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Judd Nelson, Hedy Burress, Michael Weatherly

A writer's deadly secret is about to rise to the surface in this made-for-TV suspense thriller. Stanley Caldwell (Judd Nelson) is a screenwriter working on a story for a suspense film about a lunatic ... read more read more...who kidnaps and murders young women. However, Stanley's research methods are more than a bit unusual -- he actually does kidnap women, and once he's learned as much as he thinks he can from them, he disposes of their bodies by drowning them in a nearby lake. Stanley's buddies who work at a special effects company don't suspect anything could be wrong, nor does the local sheriff Boone Preston (Michael Weatherly), but when Stanley snatches Mallory (Hedy Burress), a pretty but iron-willed teenager, he may have finally found a victim who can outwit him and put a stop to his twisted game. Cabin by the Lake was produced and first aired by the USA cable network. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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63% liked it

727 ratings

R, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Po-Chih Leong

Release Date: February 1, 2000

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DVD Release Date: May 15, 2001

Stats: 81 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (81)

  • ceWEBrity
    October 31, 2007
    ceWEBrity
    Wanna know something funny? I watched Cabin by the Lake and its, if possible, shittier sequel in a cabin. Except it was by the ocean, not a lake. It was also awesome, unlike this movie.

    A movie about a screenwriter cultivating a garden of dead women sounds like some macabre self... read more-indulgent fantasy to me. It's almost as if the genius behind this script was saying, in more words, "someone option this script or this is the fate that will befall several young girls." And then a hapless TV studio, worried about safety more than quality, did so. And this cheesy piece of horror doo-doo was born.

    Congratulations, you just watched me tell the worst story ever. Except not because you probably haven't seen this movie yet.
  • threefolddado
    July 8, 2008
    threefolddado
    The humor really helps this film. Nice bits about being a writer. Could be every writer's fantasy.
  • zman47240
    July 25, 2009
    zman47240
    Actually not a bad film. Judd Nelson's overall creepiness (I find him this way in real life also) makes this worth a watch. Can be found playing on the likes of Sci-Fi, USA, Chiller, etc.
  • ein2236
    March 27, 2008
    ein2236
    I 1st seen this movie on tv its a usa made for tv movie i think cant remember lol but anyway i really liked this movie and thought it interesting how he would make a "garden" as he called it with all the dead girls he would kidnap and murder and dress them up in fancy dresses and... read more sink them to the bottom of the lake that he lived on and what was funny is that in the movie hes a screenwriter and the script he was writing was what he was really doing at his lake i really loved the soundtrack to this movie too
  • StaisilD
    November 11, 2007
    StaisilD
    Cabin by the Lake starts in a cabin by a lake (funnily enough) owned by horror film writer Stanley Caldwell (Judd Nelson) who is under pressure from his agent Regan Kendrick (Susan Gibney) to deliver his latest script titled The Garden of Flesh. However Stanley believes these thi... read morengs cannot be rushed & takes the credibility of his work very seriously so he does plenty of research to get things just right. For instance he has kidnapped a teenage girl named Kimberly (Daniella Evangelista) & has kept her imprisoned in a room chained to the floor. To continue & complete his research Stanley takes Kimberly out to middle of the lake, he ties a weight to her feet & chucks her into it. After observing Kimberly's reactions he thinks he can still learn more & kidnaps Mallory (Hedy Buress) to do the same to her, however she is rescued at the bottom of the lake by scuba diving Deputy Sheriff Boone Prescott (Michael Weatherly) while he is testing some special effect equipment out with his friends Duncan (Bernie Caulson) & Lauren (Colleen Wheeler). Since Stanley doesn't know that Mallory survived Deputy Prescott stages an elaborate trap, special make-up effect artists Duncan & Lauren construct a fake Mallory out of latex, they stick some cameras in it's eyes & chuck it into the lake. In theory the kidnapper will come back & they will have him on film.

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Critic Reviews

December 6, 2005
Film Threat

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
October 13, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

December 8, 2002
Film Threat

Click to read the article Full Review

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Cabin by the Lake Trivia

  • Which actor plays a killer keeping an underwater cemetary in Cabin by the Lake (he made a comeback in Return to the Cabin by the Lake)?  Answer »
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