Lake Placid: The Final Chapter

Has a sequel with "The Final Chapter" in the title EVER actually been the final chapter?

So the character of the rough-and-tumble croc hunter who definitely died in the last movie is back as an Environmental Protection Agent for some reason? But sort of stupidity is really just par for the course with Lake Placid, firstly because everything after the first movie was just stupid in general, but more specifically 'cause they do the exact same thing with a character from this movie in the next one.

Also probably not an ideal ending for a movie that's touted (albeit falsely) to be The Final Chapter.

Final rating:★★ - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product.

The fourth part in the Lake Placid series

The crocagator-infested Black Lake, Maine, has been fenced-off with a huge electric fence. Things go awry when a bus containing the Marshfield High swim team accidentally goes to Black Lake instead of nearby Clear Lake. Elisabeth Röhm plays the sheriff; Poppy Lee Friar her daughter, the heroine-by-accident; and Yancy Butler the sassy & droll game warden. Paul Nicholls plays the sheriff's beau and Benedict Smith his son, the latter having a thing for the heroine. Robert Englund is also on hand as a greedy poacher.

"Lake Placid: The Final Chapter" (2012) is the fourth movie in the Lake Placid series and it's about on par with the original 1999 flick, as far as story goes, but it lacks that one's production values. The film features an interesting group of females in the cast, but they're sub-par compared to the previous two installments, although Röhm (the sheriff) and Scarlett Byrne (Brittany) are worthy.

As the third sequel hindered by a TV budget it's a throwaway horror flick, but it's generally entertaining for what it is, part serious, part amusing and part campy. It surprisingly even tries to throw in a couple of reverent, moving moments.

The film runs 86 minutes and was shot in the sticks outside Sofia, Bulgaria.

GRADE: C