The House by the Lake

1976

Horror / Thriller

IMDb Rating 6.0/10 10 1325 1.3K

Plot summary

Harry is a rich dentist who often brings women up to his rural lakehouse. One weekend, he invites Diane, a former fashion model. On their way to the house, Diane runs a gang of thugs off the road. Humiliated, the thugs track down the couple for revenge.



October 28, 2023 at 05:25 AM

Director

William Fruet

Top cast

Brenda Vaccaro as Diane
Don Stroud as Lep
720p.BLU
814.98 MB
1280*718
English 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
1 hr 28 min
Seeds ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by meathookcinema 7 / 10

An underrated revenge movie

Harry is on his way to a country holiday home with his new ex-model girlfriend, Diane when they cross paths with a rowdy car-full of drunken yahoos who try to intimidate them. After the couple run them off the road and ruin the suspension on their car, they are tracked to their country lair with the angry men proceeding to invade this picuresque idyll.

Violence and rape ensues as the hillbilly gang seek revenge. In the course of events Harry is actually killed and Diane is raped when trying to escape. But then Diane turns the tables single-handedly and in brutal fashion.

They are elements of both Last House on the Left and Straw Dogs within this film's premise (in the UK, this film played as part of a double bill with the latter film) but theres also enough to distinguish Death Weekend from these two films. Theres a strong feeling of the 'haves vs have nots' thats interesting. The hillbilly gang see what they don't have within the house and their lives and instinctively seek to destroy and tarnish it.

Also, this isn't a case of the good vs the bad- when Diane arrives at the house by the lake she very quickly realises that Harry is a slimeball personified. Hes a swinger who has invited Diane to the house for one reason and that isn't holding hands and going for long walks. We see him taking pictures of Diane as she gets undressed and showers as the mirrors in the swingers paradise masquerading as a country house are all two-way. Diane finds out this later when one of the gang stumbles upon the pictures that the pervert Harry has taken unbeknownst to her.

Also, just before the gang invades the house Diane is just about to leave as she learns that although Harry had told her that there were other guests who would be joining them, in fact this was a lie. Harry appears to be just as repellent as the gang members who are just about to kick the door in- its just his social class that separates him from them.

This film is also made noteworthy by the cast with Brenda Vacarro and Don Stroud deserving special mention.

A very good film that deserves a really good Blu ray release. In fact, this would be ideal for Scream Factory.

Reviewed by HumanoidOfFlesh 9 / 10

Highly intense and criminally underrated Canadian rape and revenge shocker.

"Death Weekend" begins with a sleazy super rich dentist on the way to his country mansion with a buxom beauty in tow.The dentist has actually deceived Brenda Vaccaro into the country weekend foray-the sole purpose of the trip is to enjoy his latest conquest.On their way in their car the couple come across four hillbillies who start hassling the couple and chasing them in their car.Vaccaro manages to leave 'em behind.The enraged goons vows to extract revenge.The orgy of mindless violence begins in the dentists mansion...William Fruet's "Death Weekend" is an ugly and brutal rape and revenge flick inspired by "Straw Dogs" and "Last House on the Left".The most surprising fact is that it was banned as the video nasty in UK.The acting is great,the atmosphere is suitably sleazy and there is enough violence to keep fans of grimy exploitation flicks entertained.Give this one a look.9 out of 10.

Reviewed by Fella_shibby 8 / 10

Thy shall not engage in road rage with thugs and then proceed to cut off from civilization.

I saw this for the first time recently and that too the uncut 89 mins version. Was on my radar for a long time.

This one aint that violent as The Last House on the Left or as nasty as I Spit on your Grave or as darker as Straw Dogs but it is horrifying at times.

The film starts off very well with the car race and the thugs showing their regard for law by torturing a lawman. The scene of the transition between night n day is a bit silly.

I didn't understand one thing, Lep asking the model, why did u stop. Was Lep impotent?

Don Stroud as Lep is reminiscent of Neville Brand from Eaten Alive and the character Chigurh from No Country...

Chuck Shamata's double chin n his sheer stupidity gets on the nerves. The rural Canadian areas are well shot and it does add to the isolated feel.

Aft tormenting n torturing innocent fellas, Don Stroud gets to wash off his sins by playing a priest in Amityville Horror.

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