Lake Placid (1999)

Director:

Steve Miner

Writer (WGA):

David E. Kelley (written by)

Release Date:

16 July 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

You'll never know what bit you.

Plot:

Horror-Comedy about a man-eating crocodile loose in the lake.

Plot Keywords:

Bait | Based On Cult Classic | Torn In Half | Cult Favorite | Shot In The Head

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 27

3:10 AM

HBO

Cast

Bill Pullman	...	Jack Wells
Bridget Fonda	...	Kelly Scott
Oliver Platt	...	Hector Cyr
Brendan Gleeson	...	Sheriff Hank Keough
Betty White	...	Mrs. Delores Bickerman
David Lewis	...	Walt Lawson
Tim Dixon	...	Stephen Daniels
Natassia Malthe	...	Janine
Mariska Hargitay	...	Myra Okubo
Meredith Salenger	...	Deputy Sharon Gare
Jed Rees	...	Deputy Burke
Richard Leacock	...	Deputy Stevens
Jake T. Roberts	...	Officer Coulson
Warren Takeuchi	...	Paramedic
Ty Olsson	...	State Trooper

Also Known As:

Lac Placid (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violent creature attacks and related gore, and for language.

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (Canadian Home Video rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | USA:R (No. 36663) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Iceland:14 | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:11 | France:U | Germany:16 (nf) | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | UK:15 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Buntzen Lake, Anmore, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

In the hospital, someone can be heard paging Mr. Miner in the background. Lake Placid was directed by Steve Miner.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Keough and Cyr are arguing in the boat and Wells asks if he'd please drop the anchor. As he's asking, the boat is moving rather quickly, but when Keough tosses the anchor over, the water is still indicating the boat is stopped.

Quotes:

Sheriff Hank Keough: Look. He's suffering. I get to be humane.
[Aims grenade launcher]
Hector Cyr: No! No. No, no, no look, he's trapped. We've done it. So what it's not a net but, but, but he's trapped. Mission accomplished.
Jack Wells: Shoot him!
Hector Cyr: I've got more drugs. He's half dead.
Jack Wells: He's half alive! Shoot him!

Movie Connections:

References Alligator (1980)

Soundtrack:

I Think I Love You

So close, but not quite.

You have to applaud Steve Miner for trying. You have to applaud him for having the guts for using shots right out of the first two Jaws films. But as good as this film was in some parts ( and it is really good in some parts ) it is just an inch or two off being great.

Lake Placid is about a giant crocodile that has inhabited a small Maine lake. The lake isn't even called Lake Placid, but that is a whole other story. The beginning starts off with a guy from the Department of Games and Fishing searching for beavers so he can tag them. And the opening ten minutes are a true homage to the fear Jaws presented us with. And it is here that Miner has some of his strongest work in his whole career. He uses the camera to make us feel the unknown danger that is imminently lurking in the water. We feel for the safety of the diver and we don't even like him that much. Now that is good film making.

When the diver is under water, we see lots of shots from behind, as if the unseen terror is about to pounce on him, and then, boom, the first false scare. That moment in the film had me full of optimism because it made me jump. And not just a small twitch, I mean it made me leap out of my seat. That doesn't happen too often in horror films now a days. But here it does.

Finally when the attack does happen, we are treated to an exact shot of one of the scariest shots from Jaws 2. I am not going to reveal which one, but you have to see the film just for this part. It is a great shot and it really sets the tone for the rest of the film.

After the opening death, we meet the main players of the film. And this is where I am a little skeptical of the film. It's not that these characters aren't done well, it's that they could have been done a whole lot better with perhaps another re-write. Some of the dialogue is very funny but it is hollow in some ways. Oliver Platt gets off some of the best lines and that is more of a testament to his timing and ability than it is to the script. But having said that, the film does move pretty quickly. And we are treated to some more scary shots from the water. To me, there is nothing more scary than what may or may not be in the water. The anticipation of death is much more scary than death itself. Lake Placid takes that notion and does a great job, most of the time making it work.

The one part of the film that is absolutely terrible though is the last ten minutes of the film. It is hollow. It just happens and then everyone goes home. There is no real climax, no real tension and that is too bad because it takes away from the rest of the film. And Steve Miner is known for this. He is great out of the gate, but he fades at the end. He did it in the final Friday the 13th and he does it here. It's like he uses all of his clever ideas at the beginning and then has nothing left for the end and then just closes up shop.

Lake Placid almost succeeds. Almost. But it ultimately lets you down when it showed such promise throughout. I enjoyed most of this film and you should give it a chance. Deep Blue Sea is coming out in a few weeks and that should be quite good. Consider this a prelude to that film. It's good, but not quite great.