Lake Michigan Monster is a 2018 black-and-white American adventure comedy horror film written, produced, and directed by Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, starring Tews, Erick West, Beulah Peters, Daniel Long, and Wayne Tews. It centers on an eccentric alcoholic who assembles a team to track down and kill the title monster out of revenge for the death of his father.
The Lake Michigan Monster was developed by Tews and Mike Cheslik after a conversation Tews had with a close friend on the possibility of what would happen if a monster washed up on the shores of Lake Michigan. The film was influenced by British comedy group Monty Python and the earlier episodes of the television series The Simpsons, with additional inspiration gathered from the films of Guy Maddin, specifically Brand Upon the Brain. The Lake Michigan Monsters visual style was developed out of necessity, as the only camera available developed only low-resolution footage. Filming began mostly around Milwaukee and Muskegon, Michigan, over the course of sixteen months.
It premiered at the Milwaukee Film Festival on October 24, 2018, and was later screened extensively at various film festivals in 2019. Video distribution company Arrow Video later purchased distribution rights to the film, releasing it via the company's channel and Video on demand on August 3, 2020, before releasing it on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on November 2. In addition to garnering multiple awards and nominations, it was generally praised for its homage to 1960s B movies, humor, and use of practical and visual effects.
Plot
Seafield (Ryland Brickson Cole), an eccentric, alcoholic, and self-entitled captain, assembles a team of specialists in what he refers to as the "Team of the Century". The team consists of weapons expert Sean Shaughnessy (Erick West), sonar operator Nedge Pepsi (Beulah Peters), and so-called former Navy Officer Dick Flynn (Daniel Long). With Seafield in charge, they set out to track down and kill the title monster to avenge the death of his father. After several failed attempts, Seafield is forced to take matters into his own drunken hands.
Cast
Ryland Brickson Cole Tews as Seafield
Erick West as Sean Shaughnessy
Beulah Peters as Nedge Pepsi
Daniel Long as Dick Flynn
Wayne Tews as Ashcroft
Production
Development
The Lake Michigan Monster was written, produced, and directed by Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, with development for the film beginning sometime in 2018. Inspiration for the film came about after a conversation between Tews and his close friend Erick West. Tews, who was in the process of moving to Los Angeles at the time, was visiting Lake Michigan with West where the two jokingly struck up a conversation on what would happen if they were to witness a mermaid washing up on the shore of the lake. Believing the concept was a great idea for a potential feature film, Tews began developing the film's screenplay shortly afterward, marking Tews' feature film debut. Concluding that the film would be a low-budget production, Tews developed the film's screenplay with fellow filmmaker Mike Cheslik around specific locations where he knew he could film at, with the intention that he (Tews) also starred in the film. Development of the film's screenplay was influenced by Tews' love of the British comedy group Monty Python and the earlier episodes of the television series The Simpsons. Tews also listed additional influences such as the films of Guy Maddin, specifically Brand Upon the Brain (2006), and Sam Raimi's Evil Dead II (1987), for the film's humor and style. Early on in development, the original idea of a mermaid was changed into that of a lake monster, as they felt it was "more attainable". Tews and co-writer and producer Cheslik also came up with the idea to keep the film at a brisk pace, reasoning that its potential audience would see through the film's limited budget and lose interest. Dialogue and characters were also deliberately structured around friends and family of Tews, whom he had in mind for certain roles. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Tews stated, "They more or less play themselves in the movie, and because they're not classically trained actors... I kind of just wrote their characters as who they are in person".