To the Lake (I) (2019–2022) User Reviews (298)

A Surprisingly Excellent Pandemic Thriller

[PStyles · 8/10 · 18 October 2020]

I had been looking for something new to watch, and randomly stumbled on a blog post gushing about this show. I decided to give it a shot, and could not stop watching over the course of 2 days.

If someone asked me to describe this show, I would say that it is a mix of "28 Days/Weeks Later" (2002, 2007) and "Contagion" (2011), with a uniquely Russian flair mixed in. I have never been exposed to a Russian producton before, and this show certainly set the bar high.

"To the Lake" follows an unlikely group of survivors as they attempt to battle their way out of Moscow, fleeing from a deadly virus that kills everything in its path within 3-4 days. The virus itself is shrouded in mystery, but the concept reminded me a lot of the aformentioned movie "Contagion". There are no zombies or supernatural entities found here; just a bleak depicition of mother nature's most efficient killing tool as it runs unchecked throughout Russia and beyond. I really appreciated this approach, and in my opinion, the show has a more realistic feel when compared to other pandemic shows that came before it (one AMC show in particular comes to mind...).

The editng and camera work were often reminiscent of the "28 Days" series, with hard cuts and shaky camera shots to help emphasize the horror and confusion of the situation. The cinematography was also excellent, and included some breathtaking shots of Russia's wilderness.

I only have a few minor gripes with the show. While the acting is excellent, there are moments where characters make some rather bewildering choices. My second issue is with the music; there are times where it feels out of place, or perhaps doesn't have the emotional impact that was intended. There are also times where the music is excellent, and reminded me (again) of the "28 Days" movies. Overall, it's a bit of a mixed bag.

With that being said, I definitely recommend this show. It's intense and bleak, but also has a uniquely human element to it that can be hard to capture in shows like this. If you like post apocalyptic movies/shows, definitely check this one out. For English speakers, I highly recommend watching this show in Russian with subtitles.

A decent film version of the great novel

[ekandziouba · 7/10 · 28 September 2020]

I adore thrillers both in films and in literature. Furthermore, the scarier, the better for me. It is not a surprise that I fell in love with Yana Vagner's novel - Vongozero. For me it was an ultimate page turner, I literally couldn't tear myself from the book and binge-read it in three days.

Some time ago I heard about the series based on the novel. Unfortunately, I couldn't watch it among the first. But finally, I found an opportunity to dive into my favorite Universe and would like to share my first impressions with you. Some directors deliberately change a lot in the movie version and that often ruins the author's concept. In the case of this series the novel is treated very delicately.

Many characters and especially Anna look exactly the same as I imagined while reading the story and it's the best gift for all the fans of this novel, including me. Writing this text, I am wondering - how could have this book become a prediction of 2020!

The scariest part of both the book and the show is - that there are no zombies, no walking deads, yet it gives you the chill when you recognize these omens of our NEW NORMAL in it. And it takes courage to watch this series nowadays.

Outstanding

[subhadip-59194 · 8/10 · 9 October 2020]

Never thought this will be so good.. Started watching this as i dont have anything to watch in Netflix .. Thought it will be like another zombie movie but man it takes things on a different level..

Will definitely wait for the season 2..

Russian Pandemic Thriller

[Pairic · 7/10 · 8 October 2020]

To The Lake: Virus runs rife, people coughing and dropping dead, you can tell they're infected by the reds of their eyes, so don't shot until you can see that. Moscow is sealed off, a plague city. Law and order breaks down, security units start looting. A group try to journey to a lake where they hope to find refuge on an island. Internal tensions in the group doesn't help. Quite violent with disturbing scenes. Interesting to see a Russian pandemic TV Series. On Netflix. 7/10.

I am so bored of generic Hollywood Stuff

[jalalanajjar · 10/10 · 7 October 2020]

This show is worth the watch, I'd give it an 8, the reason I gave it a 10 is to counter the 1 star reviews. It's not perfect but I love the interactions and how human the characters are ( or in other words how real ), acting good and hope we see more TV shows from Russia and other countries that don't see the US as the entire planet.

Enjoyable - season 1

[soelir · 7/10 · 2 August 2023]

I do love an end of the world/rampant virus/people going nuts type of drama, it has to be said. So this was right up my street.

I watched it dubbed, so I probably didn't get the best of it, but it was enjoyable all the same.

A bit of a culture shock in places. We Brits just don't tend to have that much nudity in our dramas! And, did it need so many boobs? Probably not, but hey, they were all cracking boobs!

I did get a bit tired of it halfway through, but after a few weeks off came back to it and I'm glad I did. The set up for the second season looks great. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Netflix to add it.

There's no spoilers here, but I will warn that there's a fair bit of sexual violence, albeit more threatened, than fully executed. I presume it goes back to the cultural thing.

And for anyone just wanting gore and action, I'd suggest you give it a try but know that this is more about the characters (even if they don't make that much sense - again, I'll assume the cultural difference).

Overall a solid series.

I'm so glad I don't live in the snow! I'll take constant drizzle any day! I'd have frozen to death on day one.

I'm not a bot when I say this tv series is good !

[Alex-Makabrys · 9/10 · 9 October 2020]

I've read the reviews , and some of them are rating this tv series 1 star , probably they wanted a zombie fight every 2 minutes ! , if you looking for that this is not for you ! . I watch a lot of movies and tv series , I know when something is worth watching and this is one of them ! - The story is great , sometimes looks like the characters made stupid bad decisions , but if you put yourself into that character you realize that the action they took is quite plausible.

People often make stupid decisions when are under stress or some cases !

The acting is really good I felt every character honorable mention to Polina ,Lyonya , and worked well with the story ! -

I do recomand this tv series , in my opinion is very good !

Third Russian show I watch

[katarina-rombe · 7/10 · 20 October 2020]

Watched The Sniffer and Better than us before and totally loved them! This is playing in the same league. Amazing how they combine tragedy and horror with sudden humorous scenes - I've been laughing so hard, I love it! Actors are really good, kudos to all of them!

Pretty good evenings entertainment

[robertdowrick · 9/10 · 10 October 2020]

I admit to binge watching this, after the first episode I was hooked and wanted to see what happend to them , yes there are some cheesy moments and some bad decisions but people faced with life and death decisions under great stress do not always act rationally personally I enjoyed it and look forward to a season two

Very good first season and amazing acting

[agelosxar · 7/10 · 12 March 2021]

At first i didnt know ehat to expect from a russian production but it was actually a very good series. Th first half of the season was kind of null with some dumm desicions and post apocalyptic cliches but the last 3-4 episodes were really amazing. Also the acting in this is really good from nearly every cast member. Amd of course a great cliffhanger whitch makes you wanna wait for the nxt season.

Russians can make it work even better than Hollywood

[Kamil_An · 9/10 · 9 October 2020]

I was being sceptical before watching the first episode, but when I turned it on, I was vastly surprised! It doesn't only have a great storyline, it also has a fabulous cast and setting(s). You can feel that the characters develop emotions for one another. There's hatred, love, sympathy, but most importantly, there's hope and trust. You can literally learn from this show and know that if we ever have to face an epidemic like that, you'll have to be able to not only adapt to the changes around you, but also have the ability to trust the ones that can and should be trusted.

Anyways, I am giving this series a 9/10, I would give it a 10 if a few more families were involved, it would have been more "diverse". Really recommend this show to anyone that loves post-apocalyptic movies etc.

The Walking Red

[orangehenryviii · 7/10 · 28 October 2020]

It feels a little got lost in translation with the subtitles, leaving a few plot holes and flat jokes, and some of the music is dangerously close to the 28 days Later theme as well (and wow they sure love that Teach Me Tiger song a little too much!) but all in all pretty solid writing and acting and some really fantastic camera work, and the timeliness of the whole epidemic scenario makes for a binge-worthy watch. The pacing is a little slow but it's a refreshing change from the onslaught of "Teenagers vs. the Apocalypse" type shows.

None of of them would've made it out alive on the first day

[captain_astronaut · 5/10 · 15 October 2020]

Plus nearly all of them are unlikable except for Mischa, his mom and the Doctor. Sergey is an idiot, his ex-wife is a class one A-hole. His "friend" is a scumbag. His dad is a raging drunk. The only people dumber is Rick on The Walking Dead. And no one is so unlucky that they run into every horrible thing in the world. Robbers, rapists, evil military, cannibals, the Chinese army. They must be saving the velociraptor attacks for next season.

I like apocalypse shows, but I should at least like some of our protagonists, and it would be nice if they had a brain between them.

Poor Sergei Married The Two Most Annoying Chicks in Russia

[tvdefrancesco · 7/10 · 26 January 2021]

The shows not bad. Except for the annoying banter between the two women. I'd say Ira is the worse of the two. They just break Sergei's balls the whole time. Poor guy. At least they're good looking.

One of the best

[valentinvilnius · 10/10 · 20 March 2020]

I've seen all top imdb thriller tv-shows and this one is one of the best. Never expected something this good from Russian cinematography. It's really worth watching, hope that season 2 is coming soon! Well done 👏👏👏

Pretty good

[Calicodreamin · 7/10 · 22 October 2020]

Overall a pretty good show, sort of post apocalypse meets a bunch of useless people running around Russia. Interesting storylines, if not always logical ones, and decent acting.

Very-very good!!!

[trippy-681-96574 · 8/10 · 9 September 2020]

One of the best mini-series that have ever came from Russia yet. Intriguing, real, with vivid and believable roles. Great production and soundtrack. Looking forward to see new movies/series from this director and his team.

Russian Version of The Walking Dead meets Metro Exodus (3rd entry in the Metro video game series).

[WarMovieCollector · 7/10 · 12 September 2023]

My review for Season 1 and 2.

Premise of the show is heavily influenced by post-apocalyptic horror dramas and movies like ''The Walking Dead'', ''Fear The Walking Dead'', ''28 Weeks Later'', ''Dawn Of The Dead'' etc and the video game, Metro Exodus (2019). Unknown contagious virus spreads worldwide and is declared a pandemic by the governing authorities. The Outbreak causes the collapse of society, which results in the end of modern civilization and the near extinction of the human race. Random group of survivors coming together to beat the odds of survival. Each character in the show brings along a past history of their former lives that ends up indirectly affecting other survivors. The group travels from one region of Russia to another. Nobody ever catches a real break in this show. Danger always lurk in the corner. Feels like a thriller. Overall, I enjoyed both Seasons. I hope there's a Season 3.

First time watching a ruskie series, it's worth your time(edit GET INVESTED, WE GOT S2 COMIN :D)

[MoistMovies · 8/10 · 13 October 2020]

It is a series where at certain points you have to turn your critical brain off and just accept some of the stupid decisions made by the characters. But you believe in there decisions because the acting is really great. So you buy into that fact that most of the characters are seriously flawed people and wont act rationally like you think you would in there situation.

I love Science fiction, but this is apocalypse horror fiction. Not really science fiction.. especially since we are experiencing a pandemic currently (hopefully that line doesnt age well...)... For all we know a proper epidemic could happen in our life time... where a good chunk of people on the planet die... Its not really space ships or aliens coming to visit... it's a reality that could happen.

They don't make the infected zombies or any reused crud like that. Its just people that get very sick and die very quickly. It's believable and is done really well.

My only complaint is the silly softcore scenes and hilariously bad music when they occur with the young kids... They seemed really out of place. If they took out that music and set the mood differently.. changed a bit of the dialogue to not be so corny... then those scenes would've fit within the seriousness of the rest of the series much better. Sure people want to bang when they think the end it near.. But you don't need to make a point of it so often in 8 episodes.. It's like they were trying to outmatch game of thrones.. but with awful music.

Anyway. Besides that complaint I really enjoyed everything else about this series. Especially the complex mix of characters and there opposing personality types, it keeps the series interesting between telling the over arching story of the world being taken over by a epidemic (and possibly a foreign force taking advantage of that)

Pretty good, enjoyable

[Mr_Meier · 7/10 · 28 July 2021]

Yes its pretty good and enjoyable.

The survival part is fine. And the characters are well done. (I have to say they are one of the worst survival groups, but that is fine because not all of us are prepared to face a situation like this, and it is part of what they want to show)

I liked the Russian side of the situation. Yes watch it.

To the Lake

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 16 January 2021]

This Russian series opens as news breaks of a new plague; those who have it are highly infectious and will die within days of catching it. In an attempt to stop it spreading the authorities lockdown Moscow. Sergey lives with his new wife and her son, who has Asperger's Syndrome forty kilometres from the city; at his father's suggestion they decide to evacuate to an island on a remote lake. First he must rescue his young son, and his ex-wife, from the city. On their journey they are joined by their neighbours and their teenage daughter. Along their way they meet various other people; some of whom are helpful and others who present a danger... the military are definitely in the latter category.

When I saw this series recommended on Netflix I thought it would be a zombie-type film with the infected attacking people... it is nothing like that. The only real danger the infected provide is the fact that they are so contagious. The real danger is other survivors. Our group of protagonists is interesting as they aren't particularly heroic; they are better than most people they meet but aren't above taking advantage of others they meet. The military types are particularly menacing; this is emphasised by the fact that we never see their faces as they are all masked. The locations add to the atmosphere with long snow covered roads though near-endless forest. The cast does an impressive job making us believe in the characters and their predicament. The conclusion is clearly sets things up for a second season... I hope it gets made and isn't lost to our own pandemic. Overall I'd definitely recommend this.

These comments are based on watching the episode in Russian with English subtitles.

Russian Walking Dead without Zombies

[eithbed · 7/10 · 3 February 2021]

Loved it, If you enjoyed The Walking dead until it became Rubbish you will enjoy this.

But Directors please take note , if you leave your headlights on in a parked car without the engine running it will destroy your battery in roughly 1 hour especially when its cold....... I'll get me coat.

Looked promising at first...

[josefsannholm · 5/10 · 16 October 2020]

First 2-3 episodes were interesting and looked like it could be a great show..but then..wow.. so many strange script choices...

Interesting

[alkis-75209 · 7/10 · 8 February 2021]

Interesting idea, nice execution At first i thought it's another virus series but it's rather interesting. Nice plot, really nice scenery (snowy russia) , good acting , thus you can easily binge watch it . Give it a try. It worths the try.

A Fantastic Show From Russia. A Must Watch!!

[DucDeRichleau · 10/10 · 12 October 2020]

Wow, I'm glad I clicked on this by pure fluke on Netflix. Really good story and excellent cast. Moments of horror and lil' bits of humour here and there. You really get on the side of these people trying to reach their destination thru a disease ravaged land, whilst trying to avoid the military who couldn't care who lived or died. Yet again, a really good looking cast amongst the women ( ahem...) and it's great to see the Russian makers aren't afraid of nudity, with the brief full frontal blimps. (Punches a fist into the air).... Only 8 episodes and to be honest I watched episodes 4 to 8 one after the other cos I was so engrossed. Catch the trailer and I promise you will be hooked.