Lake Placid
Lake Placid
So when you hear the name Lake Placid, if you are anything like me it conjures up thoughts of a beautiful idyllic lakeside town in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York which was home to the to the Winter Olympics in 1932 and again in 1980, however that is not what we are talking about in this film. Lake Placid is a 1999 comedic b-horror monster film that takes place on the fictional Black Lake in rural Aroostook County Maine (Maine's most northern county, and by far its most remote county). The name of the film is actually a joke that is used in the film, the lake in the film has a really still placid quality to it, and the joke is that they wanted to name it Lake Placid, but they were told that name was already taken, so called it Black Lake. In Black Lake Maine, something is seriously wrong when it is discovered that there is a 30' monstrous crocodile living in the waters.
Lake Placid was released in 1999, directed by Steve Miner, and written by David E Kelley. The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox, and produced by Phoenix Pictures and Fox 2000 Pictures (a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox that focuses on independent films). The film was a minor success grossing $56.9 million in the box office, with a budget of $27-35, million, and it received mixed reviews from the critics, and on Rotten Tomatoes holds a slightly below average score.
Lake Placid stars Bill Pullman as Fish and Game officer Jack Wells, Bridget Fonda as natural history paleontologist Kelly Scott, Oliver Platt as mythology professor/enthusiast Hector Cyr, Brendan Gleeson as Sheriff Hank Keough, Meredith Salenger as Deputy Sharon Gare, and Betty White as Mrs Delores Bickerman (who owns a small farm on the banks of Black Lake. The cast is great in this film, it is nice seeing Bridget Fonda and Bill Pullman on screen together again, they were both in the 1992 film, Singles. The acting in the film is purposely cheesy as a homage to low-budget b-movie creature features from the 1950s. Sometimes this works for the film, but at other times, it honestly swamps the film down, as it feels like it is trying too hard to be a low budget b-film. It kind of bothers me that the way that the film is written, it makes Mainers look like a bunch of inbred idiots, with no culture, though many films do that with small towns no matter where they are from.
So first to discuss the Maine connection to the film, it was filmed in British Columbia Canada, which is the West Coast of Canada, on the opposite side of the continent from Maine. The film also states that it is set in Aroostook county, but then also goes on to make the lake much closer to the ocean than what a lake in remote Aroostook county would actually be. According to the distance from the ocean that the film states that the lake is, it would instead place it in Washington, Hancock, or even Waldo counties, though the remoteness, might more heavily suggest Washington or Hancock counties. Though the remoteness described does fit Aroostook county. Overall though they did capture the look of a remote lake in northern Maine well, with the endless pine forests and the mountains.
I love this film, it has some great b-horror elements, but where it really stands strong is as a comedic film, which unlike many b-films, is quite intentional. The highlight of the film is definitely Betty White's character, let's be honest her amazing character and comedic lines are why any of us whatch this film. I love when she's asked what happened to her husband, she describes how she murdered him and buried him in the yard, then later on when they are using one of her cows to lure the crocodile, she says "I'm rooting for the crocodile. I hope he swallows your friends whole.", and how she talks to the Sheriff is great:
Sheriff Keough: "Ma'am your husband Bernie, you didn't by any chance lead him to the lake blindfolded?" (referring to how she fed her cow to the crocodile)
Mrs Bickerman: "If I had a dick, this is where I'd tell you to suck it!"
At another point in the film he calls Sheriff Keough "Officer Cocksucker", Betty White is absolutely amazing, and the way she gives the lines is so absolutely priceless. Seriously if for no other reason, watch this film because of how amazing Betty White is.
If you have yet to see Lake Placid, I do recommend it, it is bad and it is entertaining, it is definitely worth watching. It is bad in all of the best ways! This isn't high quality film making by any means, and it is supposed to be, that isn't the point of a comedic b-movie creature feature, and anyone who expects a high quality movie from the ridiculous premise of this film, really watched it for the wrong reasons. You watch a film like Lake Placid, for the same reasons you watch a film like Sharknado, or Frogs, or Night Of The Lepus, because they are fun, and if you go into it with that perspective, you really should have a good time watching this movie, it is fun and funny. Though I also must say, the special effects of the crocodile look really good, and I feel like a lot of the budget went to making the amazing effects, and also the relatively large named actors like Bill Pullman and Bridget Fonda were probably not cheap either. Seriously though, go see this film if you haven't already, sit down with some snack and enjoy a good laugh.
Lake Placid was released in 1999, directed by Steve Miner, and written by David E Kelley. The film was distributed by 20th Century Fox, and produced by Phoenix Pictures and Fox 2000 Pictures (a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox that focuses on independent films). The film was a minor success grossing $56.9 million in the box office, with a budget of $27-35, million, and it received mixed reviews from the critics, and on Rotten Tomatoes holds a slightly below average score.
Lake Placid stars Bill Pullman as Fish and Game officer Jack Wells, Bridget Fonda as natural history paleontologist Kelly Scott, Oliver Platt as mythology professor/enthusiast Hector Cyr, Brendan Gleeson as Sheriff Hank Keough, Meredith Salenger as Deputy Sharon Gare, and Betty White as Mrs Delores Bickerman (who owns a small farm on the banks of Black Lake. The cast is great in this film, it is nice seeing Bridget Fonda and Bill Pullman on screen together again, they were both in the 1992 film, Singles. The acting in the film is purposely cheesy as a homage to low-budget b-movie creature features from the 1950s. Sometimes this works for the film, but at other times, it honestly swamps the film down, as it feels like it is trying too hard to be a low budget b-film. It kind of bothers me that the way that the film is written, it makes Mainers look like a bunch of inbred idiots, with no culture, though many films do that with small towns no matter where they are from.
So first to discuss the Maine connection to the film, it was filmed in British Columbia Canada, which is the West Coast of Canada, on the opposite side of the continent from Maine. The film also states that it is set in Aroostook county, but then also goes on to make the lake much closer to the ocean than what a lake in remote Aroostook county would actually be. According to the distance from the ocean that the film states that the lake is, it would instead place it in Washington, Hancock, or even Waldo counties, though the remoteness, might more heavily suggest Washington or Hancock counties. Though the remoteness described does fit Aroostook county. Overall though they did capture the look of a remote lake in northern Maine well, with the endless pine forests and the mountains.
I love this film, it has some great b-horror elements, but where it really stands strong is as a comedic film, which unlike many b-films, is quite intentional. The highlight of the film is definitely Betty White's character, let's be honest her amazing character and comedic lines are why any of us whatch this film. I love when she's asked what happened to her husband, she describes how she murdered him and buried him in the yard, then later on when they are using one of her cows to lure the crocodile, she says "I'm rooting for the crocodile. I hope he swallows your friends whole.", and how she talks to the Sheriff is great:
Sheriff Keough: "Ma'am your husband Bernie, you didn't by any chance lead him to the lake blindfolded?" (referring to how she fed her cow to the crocodile)
Mrs Bickerman: "If I had a dick, this is where I'd tell you to suck it!"
At another point in the film he calls Sheriff Keough "Officer Cocksucker", Betty White is absolutely amazing, and the way she gives the lines is so absolutely priceless. Seriously if for no other reason, watch this film because of how amazing Betty White is.
If you have yet to see Lake Placid, I do recommend it, it is bad and it is entertaining, it is definitely worth watching. It is bad in all of the best ways! This isn't high quality film making by any means, and it is supposed to be, that isn't the point of a comedic b-movie creature feature, and anyone who expects a high quality movie from the ridiculous premise of this film, really watched it for the wrong reasons. You watch a film like Lake Placid, for the same reasons you watch a film like Sharknado, or Frogs, or Night Of The Lepus, because they are fun, and if you go into it with that perspective, you really should have a good time watching this movie, it is fun and funny. Though I also must say, the special effects of the crocodile look really good, and I feel like a lot of the budget went to making the amazing effects, and also the relatively large named actors like Bill Pullman and Bridget Fonda were probably not cheap either. Seriously though, go see this film if you haven't already, sit down with some snack and enjoy a good laugh.
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