RANA: THE SECRET OF SHADOW LAKE (1981)
aka Croaked: Frog Monster from Hell
Article 5042 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 1-7-2016
Directed by Bill Rebane
Featuring Paul Callaway, Richard Lange, Glenn Scherer
Country: USA
What it is: Monster on the loose

A man returns to an island he visited in his youth and recounts the story of his encounter with a strange beast who lived in the lake.

I will give the primary title of the movie a bit of credit; it’s actually a bit moody and evocative. However, that secondary title is so silly that I find myself crediting the folks at exploitation-happy Troma for coming up with that one. However, once I saw the directorial credit of Bill Rebane, I got the sense that the movie wasn’t going to live up (or down) to either of these two titles. Sure enough, most of the movie is a talky snoozefest with little to hold the attention. They keep us from getting a clear look at the monster for most of the movie, but I’m not sure why they bothered; when you see it in its full glory, it certainly wasn’t worth the wait. The special effects were by the ironically-named company Spectacular Effects. The only thing that saves this one from being Rebane’s worst movie is that MONSTER A-GO GO is still out there.