Lake Placid

July of 1999 was a great time for water based Creature Features with two campy delights released within weeks of each other, Lake Placid and Deep Blue Sea. I'll be discussing both on my blog here this month, but I'm kicking things off with the very silly but very entertaining Lake Placid. 

Sheriff Hank Keough (played by Brendan Gleeson) is assisting a Fish and Wildlife ranger with scuba diving on an isolated lake, who is there tagging beavers when said ranger suddenly comes back up screaming for help and ultimately winds up half the man he used to be. The Sheriff quickly calls in Jack Wells (played by Bill Pullman) from Fish and Wildlife to try and figure out what happened. From the ranger's body they find a tooth fragment that appears prehistoric. New York Paleontologist Kelly Scott (played by Bridget Fonda) is sent to check out the tooth and intrigued joins the search to the monster. They are soon joined by Crocodile expert Hector Cyr (played by Oliver Platt), who has deduced that the monster in question is a crocodile. As they set up camp nearby, accompanied by a number of Deputies, including Deputy Sharon Gare (played by Meredith Salenger), to try and contain the animal if possible, destroy if necessary, with the various members of the group falling on either side of the debate. Things get more interesting when they discover that the foul mouthed old lady, Mrs. Bickerman (played by Betty White), who lives by the lake may know more than she's letting on with the crocodile.

The film was directed by Steve Miner from a script by David E Kelley of all people. The result is a unique blend of gruesome monster movie mayhem and hilarious comedy, with perhaps the most mismatched cast of characters who spend the bulk of the short 80 minute run time trading sarcastic remarks and bickering with one another. It makes for a memorably unique film that is hard to take too seriously. Then again it's about a giant crocodile in a lake in Maine that eats people, so perhaps it's best to keep things on the sillier side. The film does briefly try to explain just how a Crocodile could wind up there, but in the end the film loses interest in explaining it and in the end it doesn't really matter. Backing the film is some pretty solid effects work, especially the practical effects for the Croc by Stan Winston holding up quite well. Some of the CGI doesn't hold up as well, but the dodgy effects kinda play into the movie's B-Movie charms, so I didn't mind it. The production is capped off with a rather nice John Ottman score as well. 

The cast of the film is top notch, with Bill Pullman as Jack Wells, more or less the straight man having to deal with this group of oddballs (although his character gets in a couple of zingers as well). Bridget Fonda's performance as Kelly Scott is one of a long line of David E Kelley neurotic single ladies, but she plays the role quite well as a character completely out of her element in the Maine Wilderness, far more accustomed to her cushy New York City museum job. Brendan Gleeson does a great job as the grumpy local Sheriff Hank who loves big guns and hates sarcastic people. He frequently butts heads with Crocodile enthusiast Hector Cyr, who Oliver Platt plays with a great deal of charisma and the two play off one another beautifully to great comedic effect. One of my favorite moments was between the two of them, where they come across a dismembered toe. Hector picks it up and shows to Hank asking, "Is this the man that was killed?" Gleeson just fires back with, "He seemed...taller." Oliver Platt is a delight in his role and surprisingly works as the charming playboy who mythologizes crocodiles, while romancing Deputy Gare on the side. And then there was Betty White as Mrs. Bickerman, who effortlessly steals every scene she's in as the foul mouthed old lady who is nothing but openly hostile to our group of dysfunctional heroes. It probably doesn't help that on their first encounter that as they inquire about what happened to Mr. Bickerman Hank bluntly asks, "Was he swallowed?" 

Lake Placid is a deft mix of horror and comedy, with a stronger emphasis on the comedy side of things that at times plays out like a demented Jaws rip-off and honestly, that works for me. It wasn't a film that did particularly well in theaters, but has developed a bit of a cult following. It also spawned five direct to cable sequels, none of which I've been able to bring myself to watch. Probably because they were made for the SyFy channel and at this point, I just know better. At least with the first one, they were intentionally trying to be funny.