a couple of middle age war buddy lead by charlie arrive at wolf lake for their annual hunting trip and but the guy they be suppose to meet isn not there and but instead there a young man and david and his girlfriend who be care take the resort . when charlie find out david be a deserter in the vietnam war . hate build up within and a he lose his son in vietnam and he take it upon himself to hand out the punishment for flee his commitment . if there a sorely under value and truly forgotten pearler and wolf lake be one of those sleeper that should have a wide audience . it might be far from perfect and a the project have some teetering problem and but for most part it an adeptly craft and hauntingly cerebral picture . the problem area mostly arise from the oddly placed flash forward sequence that cut in and out within the narrative . this aspect certainly spoil what about to come and cloud the story with confusion . feel like we the viewer be miss out on detail . actually it begin with the end and so it not terribly surprising in the final outcome . but read a fellow user review on the flick and it have make interested in see the suppose re edit the honor guard . a the choppy editing that be work in be the only thing that dampen the film edge . despite know what be go to happen and burt kennedy sedately crisp direction be a ticking time bomb wait to explode with the burn tension and scathing action come to the forefront in the closing half . build up to this riveting game of cat and mouse be make possible by a studiously pressure fill script and a sensationally barnstorming lead turn by rod steiger . he really do get into his relentlessly and hot head character and but it hard to really despise him a the torment really show in his face and we watch a it tear him apart . whenever he and david huffman character ( david ) share the screen watch how intensely grip their confrontation become and how they fee the film fire . it a conflict of two generation just wait to crack over their opinion of the change face of america . the bleakly threatening atmosphere spin out from the beautiful lakeside backdrop and isolated woodland be make to great use and a stirring music score truly do hold a lethal sting in it rhythm . all the rich performance be well ground and focus . david huffman a the placid mind young man david be convince and a lovely robin mattson play hapless linda . jerry hardin superbly play the concerned and always consciousness wilbur . his character be the little voice that charlie would here if something he be do do not sit to well . richard herd and paul mantee do well in their part . if your expect a rough revenge or survival exploitation vehicle amongst a familiar setting . it start off with a lot innuendo and then some disturb moment ( like rape ) show up . there way more too it and gladly so . kennedy flesh out the situation with a diverse range of trait fuse together with excellent suspense and convict performance . a couple hiccup can not stop this stimulate potboiler from deserve to be pick out of obscurity . admirer of steiger or kennedy shouldn not miss out on this one . recommend .