Death Weekend

Death Weekend
Film poster under alternate title
Directed by	William Fruet
Produced by	Ivan Reitman
Written by	William Fruet
Starring	Brenda Vaccaro, Don Stroud, Chuck Shamata
Cinematography	Robert Saad
Editing by	Debra Karen, Debbie Karjala, Jean LaFleur
Distributed by	American International Pictures
Release date(s)	1976
Running time	87 min
Country	Canada
Language	English
Budget	$500,000 est.

Death Weekend (originally released in the US under the title The House by the Lake) is a 1976 Canadian horror/thriller film. It stars Brenda Vaccaro and Don Stroud and was one of the first films from Canadian director William Fruet. The low-budget production was shot in rural Canada and at a studio in Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada.

Plot

Diane (Brenda Vaccaro) and her gentleman friend Harry (Chuck Shamata) are on their way to a weekend getaway at Harry's country house when they encounter a car load of drunken thugs, led by Lep (Don Stroud). They get into a fit of road rage where Diane forces the punks off the road wrecking them. Diane and Harry escape to their getaway, but little do they know the angry gang has followed them there and they're looking for some vicious revenge against the unarmed couple.

Cast

• Brenda Vaccaro as Diane
• Don Stroud as Lep
• Chuck Shamata as Harry
• Richard Ayres as Runt
• Kyle Edwards as Frankie
• Don Granberry as Stanley
• Ed McNamara as Spragg
• Michael Kirby as Ralph
• Richard Donat as Policeman

Release

The film was released in the US under the title House by the Lake. At the time of release there was some controversy over the films intense scenes of violence. Still the film was released with only minor cuts to the original version. Over the years the film has gained some acclaim among horror film buffs and though it was released on VHS at one point, the film has yet to receive a DVD release.

Alternate versions

The US and English Canadian VHS releases are cut. Edited from the film was an additional shot of Lep on top of Diane as he attempts to rape her, a more graphic shot of Diane slashing Runt's throat, and a longer shot of Stanley burning to death.

However both the French Canadian and Spanish VHS versions were released uncut.

External links

• Death Weekend at the Internet Movie Database