‘Crocs on the dock. Snakes on the lake.’
Lake Placid vs. Anaconda is a 2015 made-for-television action horror film directed by A.B. Stone from a screenplay by Berkeley Anderson (Robocroc; Monster Ark; S.S. Doomtrooper). The movie stars Robert Englund, Yancy Butler (previous two Lake Placid films; Shark Week; Hansel & Gretel Get Baked), Skye Lourie and Corin Nemec (Sand Sharks; Rise of the Dinosaurs; Haunted: 333).
Plot:
A giant alligator battles with a giant anaconda snake. The town sheriff must find a way to destroy the two monsters before they kill the whole town…
Review:
Lake Placid vs. Anaconda is a bit of a tribute to such classic monster movies as King Kong vs. Godzilla and … well, any other movie where Godzilla ended up fighting another big monster. In this case, it’s a battle between the giant crocodiles from the Lake Placid films and the giant snakes from the Anaconda films. However, it’s not really much of a battle. The crocodiles don’t really meet the snakes until the last 20 minutes of the film and the battle pretty much ends in a draw.
Instead, the majority of the film deals with the typical collection of SyFy character types trying to escape from the beach and surrounding wilderness without getting devoured. There’s a group of sorority girls, all of whom are basically slaves to the hilariously bitchy Tiffani (Laura Dale, who appears to be having a lot of fun with her role). There’s the tough, no-nonsense Sheriff (Yancy Butler), who always seems to be on the verge of declaring that she’s “too old for this …. shit!” There’s the forest ranger (Corin Nemec) who is trying to rescue his daughter, who happens to be one of the sorority girls.
My favourite group, however, was a group of mercenaries hired by Sarah Murdoch (Annabel Wright), the evil CEO of Wexel Pharmaceuticals. Sarah is so evil that she even talks about her evil plans while casually undressing in front of her subordinates. Now, I have to be honest. I have sat through this movie twice and I’m still not quite sure what Sarah’s evil plan actually was. It involved a blood orchid and capturing an anaconda. But, regardless of what the actual scheme was, Sarah and the mercenaries were so melodramatic that it was impossible not to be entertained by them.
Anyway, Lake Placid vs. Anaconda takes way too long to get the creatures on screen together and the final battle is a bit of a letdown. Fortunately, however, Robert Englund is there to joyfully chew up all the scenery until the crocodiles and the snakes arrive. Englund is playing a crocodile hunter. He drinks too much, he talks too much, and he’s missing an eye, a leg, and an arm. Englund appears to be having a lot of fun playing the role and he’s the best thing in the movie.
Lake Placid vs. Anaconda really can’t compare to any of the excellent shark films that often premiere on SyFy but it’s worth seeing for Annabel Wright and Robert Englund.
Lisa Marie Bowman, guest reviewer via Through the Shattered Lens
Other reviews:
“The only laughs Lake Placid vs. Anaconda earns are not the ones it intended, as the CGI effects are third-rate on a scale with only two levels. Neither the anaconda nor the Lake Placid crocodile look any better than what free iPhone apps can create, and your time is better served playing around with those.” Flick Attack
“Corin Nemec is new to the series, as is another batch of nubile nymphs who can’t act (which is okay, since they only exist to jiggle in bikinis before being eaten). But what I personally found most-amusing is, storywise, Lake Placid vs. Anaconda greatly depends more on viewers’ familiarity with all the terrible sequels than the original theatrical films.” Moviepilot
“Worth a watch if you’ve seen the rest of the films in either series and/or you love these kinds of Syfy channel creature features but probably not for those looking for the ridiculous OTT fun found in Sharknado and its sequels…” Nerdly
Choice dialogue:
Jim Bickerman [Robert Englund]: “You do realise she’s a sociopath, right?”
Reba [Yancy Butler]: “Looks like your extraction team just got extracted.”
Cast and characters:
Corin Nemec … Tull
Yancy Butler … Reba
Skye Lourie … Bethany
Robert Englund … Jim Bickerman
Annabel Wright … Sarah Murdoch
Oliver Walker … Deputy Ferguson
Laura Dale … Tiffani – Roboshark
Ali Eagle … Margo – Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend?
Georgia Jay … Jennifer (as Georgina Philipps)
Heather Gilbert … Jane
Jenny May Darcy … Melissa
Nigel Barber … Mayor – Roboshark; Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!
Kalina Stoimenova … Megan
Carolina Bratanova … Heather
Sophia Lorenti … Amber
Vanessa Dimitrova … Cassie
Deni Tsvetkova … Angela
Luke Dinchev … Andrew
Anton Poriazov … Brett
David Roth … Earl
Adara Stone … Margi
Derek Morse … Bartender
Velislav Pavlov … Scientist 1
Nikolay Bakalov … Scientist 2
Jason Small … Coroner
Isaac Haig … Jason
Natasha Jane Pyne … Daphne
Stephen Billington … Beach Guy (uncredited)
Filming locations:
Bulgaria
LAKE PLACID (1999) Reviews of killer crocodile classic
Lake Placid movies timeline:
