Zalman King is almost the byword (bywords?) for erotic films and he certainly tries with this one. We have Billy Zane giving us his brooding, rebellious Billy, Joan Severance as Irene, the everyday wife and mother with a traumatic secret, and May Karasun as the sexually adventurous Grace, who find themselves together on the shores of Lake Consequence. Billy and Grace begin to unlock Irene's secret by some steamy scenes which of course are almost obligatory in a Zalman King film. May Karasun naked on the pontoon is a sight not easily forgotten and Joan Severance oozes sexuality with her sultry looks.Technically, the film suffers, though, from a constant stream of quick flashbacks accompanied by banging drums. These quick flashes may have been intended to heighten the mystery of Irene's past but to me they were simply annoying. To make matters worse, Irene's dialogue at the crucial time was so soft, it was almost impossible to hear. Irene's actions, running through the woods when Billy refused to take her with him were laughable. How to sum-up? A good film for fans of Zalman King but it could have been put together better.

Lake Consequence is very typical of Zalman King. It's sexy and erotic with fantastic shoots and a soft, sexy, romantic soft-sex scenes that lead your imagination exactly where it's supposed to be. Billy Zane, while not David Duchovny, is beautiful. Joan Severence is beautiful...what more could you need. It's got a decent story-line and it's well acted, not stiff and choppy, not 'acted'. If you've seen Wild Orchid, or 9 1/2 Weeks, you have to see this. The cinematography is wonderful, the scenery perfect for the story and the music blends in as if it were meant to be there. Nothing canned, nothing corny, just steamy and wonderful.

Erotic thriller starring Joan Severance anyone? What would you imagine the film would be like? Cheesy? Jazz music with smooth sax playing over the numerous pointless sex scenes? Well that's what I assumed but that is by no means what means what the film is like. It has a strange atmosphere to it and the build up to Severances infidelity is intriguing. The film is well shot and there's a sense of actual artistry and this never resorts to the cheesy clichés we have come to know from Joan and her soft core peers Shannon Tweed and Shannon Whirry. What I also really liked was the score from George Clinton. It helps that he has a bit of class unlike many musicians working in low budget movies. Clinton has done many scores for big screen movies and has a good pedigree for a movie this size, and his score is interesting and atmospheric.Overall this was surprisingly watchable. It has some intrigue without being overly entertaining. It is certainly the best thing I have seen from the gorgeous Severance. ***

The best reason to see this movie isn't for the two lead actors Billy Zane and Joan Severence. It's the supporting actress May Karasun. Joan plays a bored housewife and Billy plays a lawncare man to whom Joan is attracted. She sneaks into his trailer and falls asleep. Not knowing she is inside, Billy hooks up his trailer and drives off to Lake Consequence. When Joan wakes up, she goes outside to examine her new surroundings. Billy is gone, so she goes down to the lake shore where May Karasun bursts from the water nude, startling Joan. May is a beautiful creature and is unashamed to be seen skinny-dipping in a lake. This scene goes on for quite awhile and is, in my opinion, the best part of the movie. Eventually Billy returns, the three become friends, and Joan is led on an adventure of sexual freedom. Like most of Zalman King's movies, there isn't any hardcore sex, though this movie does involve a menage'-a-trois scene in a hot tub as part of Joan's sexual experimentation. Overall, one of the better "Red Shoe Diaries" style movies and one worth keeping around.