Lake Placid

Until now, I thought the only thing in Maine with teeth was Pennywise. A monster movie that maintains its poise above the surface and the responsible terrestrial performance of a six-foot-one-inch-long Irish crocodile with a rusty pigmentation. The following five television sequels only desperately fudged things. (2023-03-20)

All in all, a pretty average horror flick that would be a good fit on the shelves of video stores, but would only be a poor relative in cinemas. It follows the clichéd routine of some 1950s monster horror films (smart scientist, extravagant millionaire, good-looking policeman), so there are no genre surprises. Only the scenes with the crocodile are really memorable (feeding the cow and the grizzly as a snack rulez!), and there are a couple fo nice, properly bloody deaths, the rest is plot wadding and hammy humour. But it’s alright to watch once. (2006-07-03)

A movie that should have been made fifteen years earlier. It could have been at least a solid video cult-classic like Alligator, because this way it's just cliché-laden, boring stuff designed for the bottom shelves of video stores. (2007-08-16)

I have no doubt that this is good horror comedy/parody. Similarly to Arachnophobia, at first glance it looks like another addition to the monster-horror family, but it is mainly a sympathetically exaggerated affair with equally sympathetic characters, a script full of funny verbal shootouts... And in this case, also with one absolutely perfectly created crocodile (Stan Winston is/was Stan Winston), which creates the necessary suspenseful atmosphere. All in all, what bothered me most about Lake Placid was the reggae song at the end. (2012-07-24)

Out of the whole line of alligator prknoid crocodile movies, this horror comedy is probably the best next to Rogue. The crocodile itself is pretty well done visually within reason, it doesn't look like a floating plank and its movements are quite crocodile-like. The cast was well chosen – especially Betty White – and the whole film is accompanied by a fitting soundtrack. In short, a film to make an afternoon enjoyable with a few scares and funny moments. (2010-07-26)

Lake Placid is a classic film that you can watch almost anytime, and it usually won't ruin your mood. It's not great entertainment in the sense that you won't laugh much, but it won't bore you to death either, as long as you don't mind this style of film. I must also say that around 1999, the effects were unbelievably good, so it's no surprise that Stan Winston was involved in the film. (2014-03-31)