LAKE PLACID: THE FINAL CHAPTER (2012) Reviews and overview

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Lake Placid: The Final Chapter is a 2012 made-for-television horror film directed by Don Michael Paul (Half Past Dead). It is the fourth instalment in the Lake Placid series. Also known as Lake Placid 4 and Lake Placid 4: The Final Chapter

The movie stars Elisabeth Röhm, Yancy Butler, Paul Nicholls, Poppy Lee Friar, Benedict Smith, Caroline Ford, Scarlett Byrne, Daniel Black, Jeff Stewart, Robert Englund and Zara Dimitrova.

Plot:
Reba (Yancy Butler) the poacher is back, now an EPA agent. Clear Lake is being corralled by the Army Corps of Engineers so scientists can study the gigantic specimens rumoured to remain. When the electronic fence gets left and hungry crocodiles coincide with a high school field trip, it’s up to Reba and the sheriff to save the teens from becoming crocodile chow.

Reviews:
” …the acting across the board in this one is actually pretty good for the most part. Also improved are the special effects. They use the same CGI models for the crocodiles that I love so much from the previous movies, but they seem to be improved slightly, as they interact with the environment and actors a bit better than they previously did.” The B-Movie Shelf

“The story is awkward and forced, and the energy and efforts of the actors simply can’t get it to make sense or seem natural. Is this a legitimate complaint about a cheaply made killer croc movie? Probably not […] There’s plenty to be annoyed at in Lake Placid: The Final Chapter, but also some things to enjoy, so it’s not a total loss.” DVD Talk

“This film doesn’t break much new ground, but refreshingly it does give us a couple of strong female leads. Yancy Butler reprising her role as the badass hunter is often entertaining, but most interesting is the female sheriff played by Elisabeth Röhm. It would have been very easy and paint by numbers to have this character played by a dude, but the inclusion of a female gives this rather bland film a bit of a shakeup.” Horror DNA

The Final Chapter was still a low budget Syfy TV movie, but thankfully it’s a much better-looking movie than the two previous sequels […] The movie isn’t terrible, but it’s not all that good. It’s very blasé, middle of the road.” Life Between Frames

“This is the usual Syfy Channel film- nothing more, nothing less. The CG looks decent at times, with a lot of dark textures on the creatures.  I’m not exactly going to praise it for looking life-like, since none of them manage to pull that off.  In the end, this is nothing that you haven’t seen, only with Robert Englund and CG Crocodiles.” Mondo Bizarro

“Yancy Butler is entertaining as the almost-kinda Burt Gummer type of character, while the decent Paul Nicholls looks way too young to have a son as old as Max is! Robert Englund is entertaining enough, even if I didn’t much care for his character, and he gets an ok amount of screentime. The direction here is ok, but unfortunately, the camera shakes a lot!” Not This Time, Nayland Smith

” …The Final Chapter is content to keep hanging around the lake and the woods yet again. Repetition isn’t a bad idea if the formula works, but this franchise managed to screw up its blueprint right out of the sequel gate. Blaming that on lesser star-power isn’t even exactly fair, seeing as how the follow-ups managed to waste the likes of John Schneider, Michael Ironside, and, in this case, Englund…” Oh, the Horror!

” …it’s hard to distinguish between what happens here and what happens in similar creature films. And that’s Lake Placid: The Final Chapter‘s most obvious problem – it’s not memorable in the slightest. No standout performer. No standout kill. No standout nudity. No standout soundtrack. No standout monster. Nothing. Just another off the production line.” Popcorn Pictures

“Story-wise, the film holds together, though as expected, it isn’t deep on plot, and the chemistry between Rohm’s character wasn’t the best but it didn’t matter; it’s just one of the Syfy classic creature features that thankfully do not take themselves too seriously.” SciFi Vision

“It’s not high art, but Lake Placid: The Final Chapter is a cut above the average Syfy creature feature. It is funny, the performances by Rohm, Butler, and Englund are good, and the gore is plentiful. If you like giant killer crocs, it’s a must-see.” Shock Till You Drop

“Even when considering all its flaws, this movie is probably better than completists would imagine. The characters are simple but amusing, or at least interesting. The film is not one big chase either. It has a varied plotline.” Tales of Terror

” …features the requisite bad CGI effects, annoying POV shots of the monster (we get lots of green-tinged “Croc-Cam” shots), and a formerly great horror star slumming it (in this case, Robert Englund playing a grizzled big game hunter). And if it wasn’t for the lively performance by Butler as the bitchy, foul-mouthed croc killer, the film would almost be totally without merit.” The Video Vacuum

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Cast and characters:
Elisabeth Röhm … Sheriff Giove
Yancy Butler … Reba
Paul Nicholls … Loflin
Poppy Lee Friar … Chloe
Benedict Smith … Max
Caroline Ford … Elaine
Scarlett Hefner … Brittany (as Scarlett Byrne)
Daniel Black … Drew (as Dan Black)
Jeff Stewart … Deputy Nermal
Robert Englund … Jim Bickerman
Ako Mitchell … Dennis
Sewell Whitney … Coach Macklin
Elena Boeva … Tina
Peter Ladjev … Joey
Kitodar Todorov … Gus

Filming locations:
Bulgaria

Technical details:
1 hour 30 minutes
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Audio: Dolby Digital

Trailer:

Lake Placid movies timeline:

LAKE PLACID (1999) Reviews of killer crocodile classic

LAKE PLACID 2 (2007) Reviews and overview

LAKE PLACID 3 (2010) Reviews and overview

LAKE PLACID VS. ANACONDA (2015) Reviews and overview

LAKE PLACID: LEGACY (2018) Reviews and overview

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