Lake Placid (1999) Review

WEEK 4: WHAT A CROC 

Lake Placid (1999) Review

Long before the series was butchered by endless direct-to-video sequels, and the final nail was put in the coffin with 2015's crossover Lake Placid vs. Anaconda, there was the original Lake Placid, which some people might not realize was a theatrically-released film. If this title leaves a sour taste in your mouth because of the stinky sequels, I hope my review can refresh your taste buds, because if you’re at all interested in animal attack films, this one ranks extremely high on the must-see list.

It starts out with the local sheriff (Brendan Gleeson) accompanying a scuba diver on a mission to tag beavers in Black Lake, Maine. There’s an attack, and a tooth fragment is found that seems prehistoric in nature, which makes little sense, at first. Kelly Scott (Bridget Fonda) is called in from the paleontological institute in New York, and joins the sheriff, as well as fish-and-game-officer Jack Wells (Bill Pullman) on a mission to find what’s lurking in the lake. Just as their investigation gets underway, along comes croc expert Hector Cyr (Oliver Platt before he got fat, which is ironic because he makes fun of the sheriff for being fat) who is certain a giant crocodile is living in Black Lake. Turns out he’s right, and he thinks they can capture the beast without killing it. The unlikely group of individuals put a daring plan into action, and now there’s only one thing they need: bait. Okay, two things: bait, and a bit of luck.

Lake Placid is my favourite killer crocodile movie, and in my opinion, one of the best killer animal films ever. Does is rank up there with Jaws? Not really, but it’s quite different from Jaws, and no, it’s not a rip-off in any way. Back when it was released, Lake Placid was financially successful, but it was not a critical favourite by any means. I honestly don’t know why people disliked this movie so much. What were they expecting? It delivers everything you could want based on the premise, plus a little more.

As I said in my Anaconda review, typically with these sorts of movies, the characters matter very little. With Lake Placid, the actors are good, and the characters are good, too! Bridget Fonda is a little annoying—her character is fussy, despises the outdoors, screams a lot—but she doesn’t overact, and has a certain intensity and tenacity that overshadows her annoying moments. Bill Pullman is a little boring, but he has some good dialogue. Brendan Gleeson is great as the annoyed sheriff, always frustrated with everyone’s sarcasm, but his interactions with Oliver Platt are the funniest character moments in the whole movie. The entire cast has surprisingly good chemistry, and the banter back and forth is unusually quick and witty, making this a really funny movie, but not in a campy way; it’s genuinely funny! There are a number of memorable quotes (“This wasn’t a bear attack, bears don’t attack people underwater.” “Probably a beaver, then.”; “I never heard of a crocodile crossing an ocean.” “Well, they conceal that information in books.”) but the best line comes from Ms. Bickerman, played by Betty White, who’s the only person living on the shores of Black Lake. “If I had a dick, this is where I’d tell you to suck it!” She’s only a minor character, but steals every scene she’s in.

As funny as the script and characters are, they would not be enough to make this movie worth watching if the main threat didn’t deliver. Luckily, it delivers in spades. The crocodile animatronics were done by Stan Winston, famous for doing The Terminator, Aliens, Jurassic Park, and so much more. Whenever Winston is behind the effects, you know they’re going to look good, and the crocodile looks as close to a real crocodile as could be accomplished without actually using a real one. There is some cgi, and it may look a little outdated, but it’s still a hundred times better than the cgi used for the sequels, and the croc is an animatronic about 80 % of the time. The best part about the croc is that unlike almost every other killer croc film, it’s not a mutant, and it doesn’t act like a theme park monster. In fact, this is one of the more realistic (behaviourally speaking) cinematic animals on the loose that I’ve seen, but is still ferocious and capable of doing serious damage.

In terms of actual criticism, there’s little I can think of that I didn’t like in Lake Placid. The pacing is perfect, the movie’s quick (running just under 90 minutes) and there’s no scene that feels unnecessary; all the fat has been trimmed (except from the sheriff, who is quite plump) and as a result, is as stream-lined as the croc itself. The ending is exciting and manages to have the usual killer animal ending, while simultaneously also do something different. Strangely, it almost has a happy ending all-around. 

At first I thought I might just be clouded by nostalgia, but I’ve watched this movie many, many times over many years—I’ve picked it over thoroughly, and I say again, why don’t people like about it? I guess film really is subjective. One thing that’s always bugged me is a line early on where they’re on the lake and Kelly comments on how dark the water is, to which the sheriff says, “we wanted to call it Lake Placid, but someone said that name was taken.” And she replies, “That’s too bad.” It’s sort of a weird comment, and makes me think, why wasn’t the movie called Black Lake? Was that considered racist? I suppose Lake Placid sounds better. So why have that throwaway line? It’s a nitpicky thing, but it has always bugged me.

All-in-all, Lake Placid is fun and fast-paced, with great characters, a humorous script, and just the right amount of thrills and crocodilian action. I can’t encourage you enough to see this movie if you haven’t, and I can’t recommend skipping all the garbage sequels enough, either.