Lake Placid

Dying is easy. Comedy is hard. And a horror comedy is darn near impossible to pull off. Mixing genres can be a rejuvenating cinematic experience (Shaun of the Dead) or an obvious attempt to make the scares “safe” for a mass audience (Arachnophobia). With a pedigree including writer David E. Kelly (L.A. Law, Ally McNeal) and director Steve Miner (Friday the 13th Part Two), 1999’s Lake Placid at least laid the creative groundwork for success. And, as giant monster movies go, it’s a pleasant 82 minutes of blood, banter and oddball characters culled straight from the ‘90s TV playbook.

In fact, the film feels a lot like Kelly’s other series, Picket Fences, only with an oversized Asian crocodile thrown into the mix. Bridget Fonda plays the spunky city-girl sent to investigate a prehistoric tooth found at the scene of a scuba diver’s death at an isolated Maine lake. Brendan Gleeson is the cantankerous but lovable Sheriff. Oliver Platt is a quirky, billionaire croc hunter. And Bill Pullman plays, well, the same blank-canvas hero he always plays.

Jaws this most definitely isn’t. Kelly’s script emphasizes the rapid-fire His Girl Friday dialogue over any sort of serious scares. The most brutal attack we see comes in the opening five minutes, as if to get the nasty stuff out of the way and settle in for some fun. The actors fit their respective roles nicely, with Platt and a potty-mouthed Betty White getting the biggest laughs. None of them seem challenged by the material, but they all seem to be having a good time.

And that seems to be the essence of Lake Placid’s appeal. The creature effects (both the digital stuff and those created by Stan Winston Studios) are marginal, the scares practically non-existent, and the story strictly monster-on-the-loose clichés. But Kelly’s script brings together a fun group of characters (and a better than average cast) the audience is willing to jump in the water with. And as cold as it gets in Maine, that’s no small feat.

Scream Factory’s collector’s edition blu-ray is a real beauty. The transfer ranks up there with the best the company has ever put out (being one of their more recent release titles, that makes sense) and includes new interviews with Steve Miner, Bill Pullman, DP Daryn Okada and members of the special effects team, plus a vintage featurette, TV spots and trailers. Horror comedy fans should definitely bite on this one.