Lake Placid: Killer crocs, anyone?
If there is something extremely alarming happening nowadays in our side of the world, it is the presence of so many remorseless, heartless, shameless, brazen, and born-without-balls (or sometimes only one) money-hungry buwayas — I mean, crocodiles—and it got me thinking about how most people fear the movie-fication of wild animals like sharks and, more recently, anacondas. What other animal in the wild has been turned into the main star of many B-movies and major Hollywood productions?
It’s none other than the crocodile itself. True enough, this ancient link to the age of dinosaurs is one of the few remaining “living fossils” still alive and has one of the strongest bite forces in the animal kingdom. Various species of crocodile can still be found in various lakes and rivers in numerous countries all over the world. As it turns out we even have a lot of them in human form, but I believe the actual crocodiles are far more decent than them. Haha.
Interestingly and humorously, some paleontologists have called crocodiles the “poodles” of the dinosaur era because the modern crocodile isn’t as big as its ancestors, yet you wouldn’t want to be its target with those chompers. So naturally, it makes for a good movie subject in any way you look at it. I mean, a crocodile is still a crocodile, especially once it gets to its normal adult size. Definitely an ancient, magnificent, and impressive creature that deserves our respect. I am referring to the wild animal and not the one we have now in human form. Haha.
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A little flashback is in order: the first time I saw a movie featuring a monstrous crocodile as its star was in “Lake Placid”; that was in 1999. It starred Bill Pullman, who was still being cast in B-movies and big-budget films after the worldwide success of “Independence Day,” but “Lake Placid” was the first in the “Killer Croc” genre to break out of straight-to-video trash and make a splash at the box office.
Before “Lake Placid,” how many movies about crocodiles had major studios produced and distributed? None for around 20 years. The forgotten film, which has now entered cult status, was the one responsible for effectively reviving crocodiles in mainstream moviegoing, showing that, aside from sharks, anacondas, and other wild man-eating predators, crocodiles deserve to be on that list. You know what? I rewatched “Lake Placid” for this little piece because, as good as my memory is about pop culture, this one was a bit hazy on the details. After finishing it, I can say it still holds up in some ways; the CGI is “okay enough,” and it seems like the major movie studio behind it was hoping to turn it into a potential “cash cow” if it performed better than expected.
Did it? Upon checking, it did fairly well, but as far as I know and has been revealed, all other sequels that came after ‘Lake Placid’ were all meant for home video and rentals to be made available in Blockbuster and other video stores that existed in that decade. Meaning to break even more than even in the final numbers was not the result they were hoping for, but there was still a demand for more of the same kind of gigantic prehistoric crocodiles. “Lake Placid” made a big enough splash that it stayed in cinemas for at least two weeks, meaning moviegoers lined up for this one and purchased tickets, and it was not pulled right away for those reasons.
I think what also helped is that “Lake Placid” became an easy choice to pick for moviegoers, even if that popularity only lasted for a few weeks to a month, because the casting was spot-on; it was reminiscent of the tone, the personality, and the attitude of the type of actors that would get cast. You not only have a leading man like Bill Pullman, but also the multi-awarded actor Oliver Platt and the one and only Betty White, whom, of course, we all remember from the classic sitcom “The Golden Girls.” So, you have a gigantic killer crocodile and three good actors to eat for the said monster crocodile. Haha….
Remember, Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, and other streaming services did not exist back then, so if you wanted to watch this, you only had two ways to do it. In cinemas or video stores, and later on, in movie channels. Now, there are a few old and relatively new “Killer Croc” movies to be found on a few streaming services, but their quality does vary, and some are really awful to watch. I even developed a bit of a headache trying to watch even clips of the other “Killer Croc” films. It was so horrendous, weird, and mind-boggling trying to make sense of what was going on in these films.
From my own viewpoint, and to save your time and effort, I would recommend watching “Lake Placid” first because it is a safe choice, and then making your decision about which ones you want to watch next, but take note, all the other ones significantly get lower in quality and are downright terrible to watch. There was even one that I saw at least half of and could not finish; the cheap-looking crocodile had visible wires on its head, as someone must have been pulling it from the other end of the lake, away from the view of the camera. Haha…. Compared to that abomination, which must have had a budget for a commercial and not an actual full-length movie, “Lake Placid” resembles an Oscar-winning movie compared to that piece of trash that belongs in the dumpster or landfill.
For those who don’t remember this movie at all or have never even heard of it despite being from the 90s, you can easily watch it now. I guarantee you that you will have a cheesy good time with “Lake Placid.” Trust me, there are far worse films that came out of that decade in the 90s. At least this one tried to be as entertaining as it could be.
There you go; here was my little “multi-purpose” entertainment piece on crocodiles in film. Well, it was just about one specific movie that I got to watch when I was younger and had to re-watch again, and not the entire hemisphere that has to do with “Killer Crocs.” And before I forget, if I have not made it crystal clear who this special piece of mine is meant for, I dedicate this to all the buwayas out there. You guys are so special!
May the crocodiles be with all of you as you sleep! Haha.
