Lake Placid

Name: Lake Placid
Genre: Action, Thriller, Horror, Comedy
Released: July 16, 1999
Duration: 82 min
Rating: 34
Cast: Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda, Oliver Platt

1999

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 25 Critics

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 44 Ratings

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6.0

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6.0	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 44 Ratings

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LAKE PLACID

Movie Details & Credits

Fox 2000 Pictures | Release Date: July 16, 1999

Starring: Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda, Oliver Platt

Summary: Its placid waters complement the pristine Maine wilderness it borders. This tranquil setting is probably the last place you'd expect a gruesome fatality. But then it's also the last place you?d expect to find a 30-foot, narrow-snouted, multi-toothed, reptilian of the species Crocodylus. An eating machine more commonly known as a crocodile.Its placid waters complement the pristine Maine wilderness it borders. This tranquil setting is probably the last place you'd expect a gruesome fatality. But then it's also the last place you?d expect to find a 30-foot, narrow-snouted, multi-toothed, reptilian of the species Crocodylus. An eating machine more commonly known as a crocodile. (20th Century Fox)… Expand

Director: Steve Miner

Genre(s): Action, Thriller, Horror, Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 82 min

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Awards & Rankings

67	#67 Most Discussed Movie of 1999
99	#99 Most Shared Movie of 1999

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Salon - Andrew O'Hehir

As irritating as Lake Placid sometimes is, it also has an easygoing sense of fun, along with one of the more memorable movie monsters of recent years. The mismatched ingredients blend into a blissfully, stupidly surreal summer cocktail. Read full review

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) - Liam Lacey

A formulaic thriller, treated in a style that's just shy of outright parody. Read full review

San Francisco Examiner - Wesley Morris

It also goes out of its way to give you a schlocky B-movie vibe by wrangling bait in the form of a bunch of Big-Gulp stupid stock characters - that's a whopping 44 oz. more stupid than you probably were bargaining for. Read full review

The Dissolve - Scott Tobias

At least White summons the camp energy that Lake Placid is fecklessly seeking. Read full review

Variety - Robert Koehler

To be sure, Kelley's Emmy-winning brand of off-kilter humor and cockeyed affection for rural folk is on display, but his attempt here to blend the citified angst of "Ally McBeal" (co-star Bridget Fonda was Kelley's first choice as that series' lead) with the countrified absurdisms of "Picket Fences," plus bits out of the Peter Benchley playbook, doesn't hold water. Read full review

Entertainment Weekly - Owen Gleiberman

Instead of rooting for Pullman and Fonda, we end up praying that the crocodile is hungry enough to put them out of their misery. Read full review

L.A. Weekly - Ella Taylor

By the end of this mercifully short excuse for a horror movie, you'll be wishing the beast had chowed down on the entire ensemble. Read full review

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User Reviews

dibs234

Apr 11, 2014

this film is truly fantastic in that it is not and should never be approached as a horror film but as a comedy/jibe to all generic slasher films out there defiantly worth a watch

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MiguelB.

Jun 4, 2007

More fun than horror, with lots of hilarious banter between main characters. Should not be taken seriously, of course, but definitely more enjoyable than most movies in this genre.

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WesleyE.

Mar 15, 2006

It's by no means a good movie... but the actors (if you can call them that) do poke some slight fun ath the subject, and the Big Croc itself kicks ass.

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ballpark_frank

Nov 27, 2012

I consider this a 'cult classic'. It's not quite "Citizen Kane", but it's excellent TV and popcorn fare. A local law enforcement officer is killed in a quite gruesome manner by some unknown creature (ok - not a spoiler, but: it's a crocodile), so the local sheriff calls in the Fish & GameI consider this a 'cult classic'. It's not quite "Citizen Kane", but it's excellent TV and popcorn fare. A local law enforcement officer is killed in a quite gruesome manner by some unknown creature (ok - not a spoiler, but: it's a crocodile), so the local sheriff calls in the Fish & Game department. Pullman shows up, along with a woman paleontologist, who's run into an office 'triangle' and been deported, so to speak, to check out a tooth found in the victim. Eventually, a well known crocodile expert enters the mix. Along the way, the four make quite a dysfunctional family, with Pullman and Fonda unable to take their platonic relationship to another level, while Platt (playing expert Hector Cyr) and Gleeson (playing the sheriff, Hank) are the two bickering brothers. Finally, to throw another wrench into the works, there's Betty White as Mrs. Bickerman, whose husband is dead (without any records being filed in the local courthouse, and no real explanation immediately coming). Eventually, it's confirmed that there's an enormous crocodile inhabiting the lake. The only question is whether to try and trap it, or destroy it). Pretty light fare, with a few 'shocking' scenes which may be a little bit too intense for very young children. A final note: stick around until the very end and you'll be slightly surprised.… Expand

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GaborA.

Aug 20, 2006

Even stupider than most creature features, but also way funnier at the same time. Sheer hilarious at times.

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Halfwelshman

May 22, 2012

Lake Placid pays homage to (or rips off, depending on your point of view) numerous monster movies, but mostly it's trying to be Jaws with a crocodile, as demonstrated by everything from the film's story to its cinematography to its music. Rip-off or not, it's pretty consistently entertainingLake Placid pays homage to (or rips off, depending on your point of view) numerous monster movies, but mostly it's trying to be Jaws with a crocodile, as demonstrated by everything from the film's story to its cinematography to its music. Rip-off or not, it's pretty consistently entertaining throughout, with plenty of obligatory jumpy moments and dismemberment, decent creature effects, a good dose of black comedy, some pleasingly silly set pieces and a team of bickering idiots to follow as protagonists. Less satisfying is the film's script, which is pretty crude, often bordering on dumb (particularly disappointing as it comes from the usually brilliant David E. Kelly), and all characters remain woefully two-dimensional throughout the film. The cast's performances are of mixed quality - Bill Pullman and Bridget Fonda are both incredibly wooden, and their characters' relationship, which is meant to be the romantic core of the film, isn't believable in the slightest, but Brendan Gleeson is good, and Betty White looks as though she is having an immense amount of fun swearing like a sailor. Lake Placid is probably the best of the 90s creature-features (though that's not saying much when your bedfellows are Arachnophobia and Anaconda), but at the end of the day you have to acknowledge that the film is utter trash. It's largely quite enjoyable trash, but it's still trash all the same.… Expand

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mds03

Apr 14, 2013

It was just mediocre. Nothing more and nothing less. What kept it from being good was the comedic overtones and the corny dialogue. But the biggest problem was that there's a giant crocodile in a lake in a movie that's rated R and only 2 people get eaten in the 82 minute runtime!

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