Independent cinema is tricky. Local filmmakers are often working with little to no budget, and available talent might not be star quality. There are technical limitations due to not having Industrial Light & Magic employing a team of thousands to create special effects. It’s pretty rare to find a feature-length indie film that’s interesting, cohesive or competent.
Lake Michigan Monster — which screens as part of the Wisconsin Film Festival on April 7 at 4:30 p.m. — is a film directed and written by Wisconsin filmmaker Ryland Tews. It may not check off all of the boxes, but gosh dang, it is one visually inventive little film. Whatever the team didn’t have to spend in money, they certainly spent in time, and that is just as valuable when it comes to independent productions. The black-and-white aesthetic, along with hand-crafted sets, digital special effects, and kinetic camera work make this film stand out. Its bonkers comedy, constant barrage of humor, and reliance on meta-humor, in particular, may leave some viewers a little overwhelmed, however.
In the film, Tews stars as Captain Seafield, a sailor with a grudge against the titular monster of Lake Michigan. Tews has a manic energy as the star, verging on vamping at times. It’s almost like Jim Carrey as The Riddler in Batman Forever, except not quite as obnoxious. The dude has energy. As the star, writer, producer and director, this whole thing falls on Tews. But don’t worry: He’s no Tommy Wiseau (The Room).
I almost couldn’t keep up with Lake Michigan Monster. While I appreciate directors actually using and moving the camera, having random canted angles in there just for the sake of being “quirky” does not add to the movie, other than to make it disorienting. The effects get pretty wild toward the end, too, but in a genuinely impressive kind of way. The animation here is top notch, too, in a cheesy way.
Lake Michigan Monster feels like it could play at The Majestic for a Brew-n-View, a movie to shout at or along with. It’s not necessarily a movie you’ll want to watch casually on a Sunday afternoon. You need friends on Friday night for something this ridiculous. Tews should be proud of what he’s accomplished with this movie. I wonder what he could do with a real budget.
