Lake Placid 2 (Unrated)

Come on people lighten up
Looking around all I see are negative reviews for Lake Placid 2 and I have to wonder what was everyone expecting? While the original did get over with the audience it's not seen as a classic of the genre, but as an enjoyable movie. Did anyone really expect Lake Placid 2 to be some kind of classic? The budget is obviously very low and Sci-Fi Pictures was involved right there you should know what to expect.

I see so many reviews calling this the worst movie ever; come on people lighten up. Is Lake Placid 2 a bad movie? Hell yeah, but it's also a lot of fun. The cast and crew knew the kind of movie they were making and make a B-movie that isn't meant to be taken seriously. All the comedy and idiotic moments are intentional.

Anybody who has read my reviews knows I'm not the biggest fan of CGI; I don't like and I probably never will. But the CGI in Lake Placid 2 is the best. And by best I mean worst. It's always easy to spot the CGI. Unless used very little you can...

SyFy Movies Ain't All That Bad!
I once decried all those quickie SyFy (nee Sci-Fi) movies. The overnight-written scripts, the over-the-weekend CGI effects, the second/third/fourth tier actors. Not sophisticated enough for erudite and discerning me. However, I found myself always tuning in to "the most dangerous night on television" to see the next big threat bested by a small gutsy band (hero, heroine, and several extras to be eaten/destroyed/immolated, etc). Why? As one of those Vietnam era vets, I cherished my weekends at the local drive-in in the 60's and 70's where, oddly enough, the same type of movies played. Back then it was men in rubber monster suits demolishing miniature sets, or men in rubber alien costumes carrying away beautiful kicking blonds, or men in rubber . . . well, you get the point. So, does a movie like "Lake Placid 2" remind me of my youth, or does it give me one more Saturday night to throw popcorn and laugh at the screen? Doesn't matter. I love this movie for the little pleasure it...

Putrid in Every Way
When Lake Placid came out in 1999 it was a bit of a surprise hit and better than it had a right to be, partly because it was a campy ode to monster movies of the 1950's. Still, it was not a film that I thought would have been worthy of generating a sequel, particularly so many years later. Lake Placid 2 originally premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel several months ago but has now been released on DVD in an unrated version. More on that in a moment.

Once again were back at the quaint Maine setting and the serene lake where the first film took place. John Schneider is Sheriff Riley, living with his teenaged son Scott (Chad Collins). I have to say that Schneider looks very good. With his hair longer, he looks almost as young as he did in his Dukes of Hazzard days, and much younger than he did in Smallville. Unfortunately Schneider seems to know he's in a bit of a clunker here and doesn't generate a lot of electricity for a guy in the lead role.

The plot in Lake Placid...

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