Director: Darrell Roodt
Distributor: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Duration: 89 minutes
Lake Placid Legacy (DVD) – Movie Review
You know Halloween is around the corner when big publishers start releasing DVDs of otherwise crappy monster movies. Lake Placid has been a series that revolves around big crocodile-like monsters and this time we end up at the sixth movie of the series, with the first one being a blockbuster and the second one already being reduced to a TV movie, which meant the rest of the series would also never make it to the theatres anymore. With the previous movies getting horrible reception from both viewers as well as critics, we were unsure if there should have been a ‘legacy’ to leave behind to begin with. We powered down our minds to dive into yet another mindless movie that lures in poor to semi-decent cast members hoping to earn a shiny penny.
Like any good monster movie, this one starts off with a bunch of adults who are supposed to pose as teenagers or young adults, who are trying to stick it to the man. The group we follow in this movie are a bunch of so-called eco terrorists, who try to break in at big pharmaceutical companies that aren’t doing the world any favors. The group is led by Sam (Tim Rozon) and he is followed by his fiancé Jade (Katerine Barrell), her sister Alice (Sai Bennett) and a few expandables which you know from the start will not make the cut when the credits start rolling. After their last break-in Sam and Jade want to call it quits, until an old rival of Sam challenges him for one last gig, which might earn him a hundred thousand dollars.
After tracking down the origin of the clip from Sam’s rival, the group finds themselves traversing uncharted land, or at least a place that has been removed from Google Maps. It won’t take that long before the troupe uncovers human remains, and find themselves trapped as going back is no longer an option when their boat is no longer in one piece.
The flow is what you have to expect from movies like this over the years. The plot starts off with unsuspecting teens/young adults, who go exploring somewhere they have no business in the first place. Before they know it, the monster appears and bodies start hitting the floor left and right, all in a not-so-effective attempt to escape the monster’s clutches. Who lives, and who dies is often quite clear from the start, but you’ll go from quiet suspenseful scenes to running scenes, which alternate to keep up the pace. Is the movie somewhat predictable? Of course. Does it mean it’s all bad? Not at all, but it will simply never amaze you, or bring something new and original to the table. If you top it off with extremely poor CGI, you’ll clearly notice why this movie never aired in theatres around the world, or domestically for that matter.
As expected, the acting performances in this movie will not immediately make up for the poor storyline. The characters follow the typical format where they have to yell every two minutes, as it will certainly help to scream your lungs out when trying to head from a giant monster that wants to eat you like a snack. It was even more surprising to see two of the more important characters from the Wynonna Earp series feature in this movie, namely Katherine Barrell and Tim Rozon, who do a great job in said series, but feel like a proper B-team in this one. Nonetheless, we reckon their presence ups the quality of the movie just a bit.
Not coming as a complete surprise, the DVD edition of Lake Placid Legacy does not have any special features or extra content. You’ll have to make do with the main feature and after seeing many of the effects used in the movie, you’ll understand why there’s no real need to contribute more to this movie than the credits, which feel like a bit of bliss at the end of this film.
Conclusion
Lake Placid Legacy is one of those movies that will certainly interest the fans that stuck with the other crappy movies in the series, but it will probably not entice those who loved the 1999 original, which still had a bigger wow-factor. The movie itself does offer a bit of entertainment to those looking to watch a ‘new’ monster movie, but even then you should probably wait for a TV broadcast, rather than spending money on actually watching it. This physical release feels more like a collector’s item for monster movie enthusiasts, rather than actually something you’d like to have in your home if you’re a moderate fan of the genre.
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