Magic in the Water

1995 film by Rick Stevenson

Magic in the Water is a 1995 American family adventure fantasy film directed by Rick Stevenson and written by Icel Dobell Massey and Stevenson from a story by Stevenson, Icel and Ninian Dunnett. It stars Mark Harmon, Joshua Jackson, Harley Jane Kozak and Sarah Wayne. The plot follows two siblings and their preoccupied father who take them on a vacation to a remote Canadian lake in British Columbia, where the siblings discover the lake is said to be inhabited by a mysterious lake monster. The film was distributed by TriStar Pictures and produced by Triumph Films released to generally negative reviews.

Ashley Black is depressed because her father Jack spends all his time focusing on his job instead of her and her older brother Joshua. She constantly records his radio show and listens to it. One day, her father takes them to a remote Canadian lake that was popular with tourists due to a myth about an aquatic monster named Orky. They rented a cabin next to an elderly First Nations man who uses a wheelchair. Jack meets a local psychiatrist, Dr. Wanda Bell, who is trying to aid some local men who claim that they have been possessed by Orky. When Ashley runs away, Jack also has the same experience while looking for her. As a result, he becomes more devoted to his children. Ashley and Joshua find out that the reason that Orky is possessing people is to try and tell them that he is dying because an evil businessman is dumping toxic waste into the lake. Ashley and Joshua help the old man in the cabin next to theirs to find a totem pole in the woods. With the help of Hiro, the son of Japanese monster seekers, they expose the businessman's illegal dumping. Orky, however, still dies from the poisonous waste. The old man summons a lightning bolt which enters a hole in the cave where Orky lives. Ashley and Hiro stay on the dock overnight and leave some cookies out. When she realizes that the cookies have been eaten, Ashley screams with joy, which suggests that Orky is still alive, or reincarnated.

Magic in the Water received generally negative from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 21% based on 24 reviews. Roger Ebert criticized the film's special effects, describing the creature Orky as an "ashen Barney". He also notes that Orky barely appears in the film at all. At the 16th Genie Awards, the film won for cinematography and sound.