Lake Placid

"You'll never know what bit you."

1999 1h 22m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 1,315

HorrorComedyActionScience FictionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When a man is eaten alive by an unknown creature, the local Game Warden teams up with a paleontologist from New York to find the beast. Add to the mix an eccentric philanthropist with a penchant for "Crocs", and here we go! This quiet, remote lake is suddenly the focus of an intense search for a crocodile with a taste for live animals...and people!

“You'll never know what bit you.”

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Cast

Bill Pullman
Jack Wells
Bridget Fonda
Kelly Scott
Oliver Platt
Hector Cyr
Brendan Gleeson
Sheriff Hank Keough
Betty White
Mrs. Delores Bickerman
David James Lewis
Walt Lawson
Tim Dixon
Stephen Daniels
Natassia Malthe
Janine

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Steve Miner
Writers: Marc Messenger, David E. Kelley
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

82 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

27 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Lake Placid Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Steve Miner, shot by Daryn Okada. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Ottman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Marshall Harvey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bill Pullman and Bridget Fonda and Oliver Platt carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You'll never know what bit you.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Steve Miner directs. Daryn Okada behind the camera. John Ottman scores. Marshall Harvey cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

182 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
227 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Lake Placid Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Steve Miner, shot by Daryn Okada. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Ottman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Marshall Harvey shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Bill Pullman and Bridget Fonda and Oliver Platt carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "You'll never know what bit you.".
9IMDB entry: tt0139414 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 23 themes, including "sheriff", "lake", "diving", "crocodile".
11Released under 20 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Daryn Okada
Original score: John Ottman
Editing: Marshall Harvey
Production design: John Willett
Costume design: Jori Woodman
Makeup / hair: Kim Santantonio
VFX supervisor: Andre Bustanoby
Sound: Steve Boeddeker
Stunt coordinator: Jacob Rupp
Runtime: 82 min · 1h 22m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $27,000,000
Box office: $56,870,414
Return: 211% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Lake Placid (1999)

Part of

Lake Placid Collection

Lake Placid is an American series of monster horror/comedy films created by David E. Kelley. It is a campy throwback to the old creature features. Produced and distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, the series began with Lake Placid (1999) directed by Steve Miner. This was followed by five television sequels, Lake Placid 2 (2007) directed by David Flores, Lake Placid 3 (2010) directed by Griff Furst, Lake Placid: The Final Chapter (2012) directed by Don Michael Paul, Lake Placid vs. Anaconda (2015) directed by A. B. Stone and being a crossover with the Anaconda series, and Lake Placid: Legacy (2018) directed by Darrell Roodt. Each installment revolves around the presence of giant, 30-foot-long man-eating crocodiles in the fictional location of Black Lake, Maine, and the efforts of various groups to capture or destroy the creatures. All of the films reference members of the fictitious "Bickerman" family.

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Steve Miner

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What people are saying

John Chard2016-06-20
★ 7.5/10
Big Crocodile - Big Log - Big Fun. There's a gigantic crocodile loose in the waters of Maine. A number of local hicks and big city eccentrics converge to try and stop the beast... Wonderful! A modern day homage to the creature feature movies of lore. It's not a spoof, it's a fun packed tongue in cheek thriller, hell it may even have some literary worth as regards ecological concerns, while the cultural clashes that thrive are written with knowing skill. Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda and Brendan Gleeson are superbly underplaying things, but they all get usurped when at the 20 minute mark Oliver Platt flies in on his helicopter and promptly owns the film from that point on. The script crackles with choice wit and sarcasm (the Gleeson/Platt on going feud an absolute joy), while Stan Winston provides beastly graphics that are blended with genuine suspense courtesy of director Steve Miner. Oh and "Golden Girl" star Betty White turns in a support slot - with a potty mouth! Double view it with something like "Tremors", movies that know exactly what they want to homage. 8/10
Gimly2018-01-25
★ 5/10
Not bad for a giant-gator Creature Feature, but Goddamn listening the dialogue in the first act is aggravating as sin. Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole.
Kamurai2020-09-20
★ 7/10
Good watch, would watch again, and can recommend. I like a crocodile movie, they don't even have to be giant-sized, they make really good "monsters", and the reality of their danger sits in the back of your head. The cast was great in this, though Bridget Fonda screams a lot, and I can't say it's very endearing. They do sort of a "unlikely crew" trope with this, but most of the movie is dedicated to trying to find the thing in one capacity or the other. I just feel they did a good job on everything all round, and while it's not phenomenal, part of me REALLY wants a re-make of this one.