| Lake Placid | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Steve Miner |
| Produced by | David E. Kelley Michael Pressman |
| Written by | David E. Kelley |
| Starring | Bill Pullman Bridget Fonda Oliver Platt Brendan Gleeson Betty White |
| Music by | John Ottman |
| Cinematography | Daryn Okada |
| Editing by | Paul Hirsch Marshall Harvey |
| Studio | Stan Winston Studios Fox 2000 Pictures |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | July 16, 1999 |
| Running time | 82 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $27 million |
| Box office | $56,870,414[1] |
Lake Placid is a 1999 American monster movie with elements of comedy, horror, bromance film, and the buddy genre. It was written and produced by David E. Kelley, directed by Steve Miner, and stars Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda, Brendan Gleeson, Oliver Platt, and Betty White. The plot revolves around a giant, 30-foot-long man-eating alligator which terrorizes the fictional location of Black Lake, Maine, United States, and also follows the dysfunctional group who attempt to capture or destroy the creature.
The film was produced by Fox 2000 Pictures and Stan Winston Studios (which did the special effects for the creatures) and principal photography was shot in British Columbia, Canada. The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox and released in cinemas in the United States on July 16, 1999, and in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2000.[2] Despite some good reviews, critical reception to the film was generally mixed to negative. However, the film was still a financial success at the box office and it spawned two made-for-television sequels, Lake Placid 2 in 2007, Lake Placid 3 in 2010 and Lake Placid: The Final Chapter will be released in 2012.
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A marine fish officer and Game is scuba-diving in Michael Kane Lake, Aroostook County, Maine, when he is savagely attacked and bitten in half by something unseen in the water. A tooth is found in the diver's remains and, as it appears to be a prehistoric fossil, a request is made for assistance to the Natural History Museum in New York City. Paleontologist Kelly Scott (Bridget Fonda) gets this job.
Upon arriving in Maine, Kelly informs Fish and Game officer Jack Wells (Bill Pullman) and Sheriff Hank Keough (Brendan Gleeson) that the tooth appears to be reptilian in nature, and is not a fossil, but something much more recent. They meet Delores Bickerman (Betty White), one of few people living on the lake, who claims that she killed her husband when asked how he died.
Later, a helicopter arrives at the camp. Hector Cyr (Oliver Platt) is an eccentric mythology professor and crocodile enthusiast who believes that the creature behind the attacks is indeed a crocodile. While the four are exploring the lake, the creature is shown settling under Kelly and Hank's canoe. Hector's radar begins to pulsate as Kelly and Hank are thrown off their canoe and into the water, but survive.
The next day, Jack and Hector go diving in the lake to find the creature. A speaker producing the sound of baby crocs in distress is placed in the water. The creature is shown sneaking up on them. It pulls the boat anchor, but Hank orders his deputy, Burke, to cut the anchor cable, and the boat escapes. While removing the speaker, Burke is attacked by the creature and his head is bitten off.
Hank blames himself for the deputy's death. Hector's attempts to console him backfire and they get into a fight. During the brawl, Hank chases Hector to the lakeside and as the others follow, a grizzly bear appears. Suddenly a giant saltwater crocodile leaps out of the water and drags the bear into the lake. Jack, Kelly, and Hank visit Delores again and find her feeding the crocodile with a blindfolded cow. Delores reveals to have been feeding the crocodile for six years after it followed her husband home and killed him. She is placed under house arrest for not telling the police what she knew when they visited her before.
Hector decides to take one of Hank's deputies on a trip in the helicopter, and lands the helicopter in the cove where the crocodile lives. While he is diving, it attacks him, but he escapes. Jack and Hank plan to allow Florida Fish and Game to kill the crocodile when they arrive, but Hector suggests instead that he lure it out of the water and drug it. Jack reluctantly accepts the proposal and they use one of Delores' cows, dangled from the helicopter, as bait. After a few hours, the crocodile turns up and lunges at the cow. Hector pulls up, loses the cow, and crashes the helicopter into the lake. The crocodile comes on land and attacks Jack and Kelly. Kelly is knocked into the lake but makes it to the helicopter just in time.
Despite Hector and Kelly's protests to let the animal live, Jack grabs a gun and shoots it, but the gun is revealed to be a tranquilizer rifle. As Hector comes out of the water, a second crocodile attacks him, but Hank blows it up with his grenade launcher. Florida Fish and Game arrive seconds later. They load the crocodile on a truck and take it to Portland, Maine until they can figure out what to do with it. The last scene shows Delores feeding bread crumbs to many baby crocodiles, implying the two adults were a mating pair. During the end credits, the surviving adult crocodile is seen tied to the back of a flat-bed truck, speeding down a road.
The film was produced by Fox 2000 Pictures, Phoenix Pictures, and Rocking Chair Productions.[3] The 30-foot (9.1 m) long crocodile was created by Stan Winston Studios.
Almost the entire film was shot on location in remote locations in British Columbia, Canada, which stood in for the fictional locations of the film in the American State of Maine. Some scenes were shot in Vancouver and Surrey, B.C. Three different lakes stood in for the fictional "Black Lake"; these were Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island, B.C.; Buntzen Lake, Anmore, B.C.; and Hayward Lake, Mission, B.C.[4]
Betty White's character is told that PETA would be interested to learn of her alleged mistreatment of her cows. In reality, Betty White is a major on-air spokesperson for PETA.[5]
Although Lake Placid was a financial success at the box office, critical reception was mixed. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 37% rating with the critical consensus being "Faux horror schtick fails to elicit any laughs or scares."[6] Roger Ebert described it as "completely wrong-headed from beginning to end".[7] Empire gave the film four out of five stars, saying "You can enjoy Placid as a straightforward camping-holiday nightmare, or as a sly, ironic take on the same. It works deliciously as both."[8]
Lake Placid 2, produced by Sony Pictures and the Sci Fi Channel, is a made-for-television movie aired as a Sci Fi Channel original movie on April 28, 2007. Changes from the original film include a completely different cast, filming locations in Bulgaria and a severly reduced budget of $2 million as opposed to the $27 million spent on the original. The unrated DVD release of the film was distributed by 20th Century Fox and released on January 29, 2008.
Lake Placid 3, produced by the Sci Fi Channel is a made-for-television horror film starring Colin Ferguson (Eureka). This sequel to the 2007 film, Lake Placid 2, and the 1999 film, Lake Placid, aired as a Sci Fi Channel original movie on August 21, 2010.[9] It was released as a DVD on October 26, 2010. Lake Placid 3 has 2 versions; The TV version was rated R, the dvd version was unrated and contains nudity.[10]
It has been confirmed that a Lake Placid: The Final Chapter is being made and will star Yancy Butler, who also starred in part 3. It will be directed by Don Michael Paul.
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