2015 Lake Placid vs. Anaconda

• Director: A.B. Stone
• Writers: Berkeley Anderson
• Stars: Yancy Butler, Corin Nemec, and Robert Englund
• Runtime: 92 minutes
• YouTube Trailer Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct66zypT4e0

Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone

It’s the crossover we didn’t know we needed, fifth in both series. The crocs from the Lake Placid movies were contained until they decided to try to combine the giant anacondas with them, and things became a mess. There’s quite a body count in this one, and lots of CGI creature action and gore. It had more humor than the anaconda films, which we just saw as well. It’s middling, not awful but some entertainment value. Especially if you like watching lots of young women in bikinis.

Spoilery Synopsis

We open on a group of people hunting an alligator in the woods. Jim Bickerman looks like he’s lost some limbs due to the local reptiles. The giant crocodile is taken to a lab where there’s also a giant snake. This whole area is full of protected crocs, and Jim knows how to get in and out. They inject some cells from a crocodile into an anaconda, which is about to lay eggs. Suddenly, the big croc wakes up and gets loose. In the ensuing scuffle, the snakes escape as well.

At the Clear Lake State Recreation Area, we run into Tull, a wildlife cop. We also see Sheriff Reba in the next town over, where there is at least one missing person from the area around the Black Lake electric fence. If there’s trouble, the mayor is all set for a coverup. Deputy Ferguson is at Black Lake, and he’s found the mess from last night. Daphne, the missing girl, turns out to have a crocodile under her bed, which eats her.

Sarah Murdoch, the daughter or the dead businessman of the previous films, tells Mr. Beach about the blood orchids and immortality. The only animals that are compatible with the serum are anaconda and those special crocodiles.

A couple of carloads of sorority girls are driving out to “prove themselves” at rush weekend. One of the girls is Bethany, Tully’s daughter.

Some hunters get eaten by a swarm of tiny crocodiles.

At the crime scene, Reba cuts open a croc and finds some remains inside. She calls Tully for some croc-assist.

The sorority group is clear to point out that the famous crocodiles are in that other lake, not here. Everyone gets into the water, and we soon see someone get dragged under– no, it’s just two guys playing games.

Sarah, Beach, and his men have a tracker in the female anaconda, hopefully before she lays eggs. They have the trackers and want Jim Bickerman to help them again.

Reba and Tully find it’s strange that all the trackers in the crocs have gone offline. They have no trackers, but the crocs must be headed to Clear Lake. Tully calls his daughter, who is at the lake, but she’s not answering.

A waterskier gets eaten on the lake, and we see a huge croc closing in on the sorority recruits. The waterskiing group soon learns they’re going to need a bigger boat. The sorority girls run to their cars, without keys, and watch as crocs close in on them.

Sarah beats up Jim; she needs his help. Her whole group is soon out in the wilderness area looking for the missing anaconda.

Tully and Reba are about to be eaten by a crocodile when the reptile is suddenly attacked and killed by a giant anaconda. They know about the crocs, but the giant snake is new for them.

The anaconda squeezes the girls’ car, so now they have no way to get away. Tully, Reba, and Ferguson arrive and check out the wreckage on the beach. They find the girls’ crushed car and soon, the remaining three girls.

Murdoch’s group steals a boat, and Jim goes for a swim. Beach and Murdoch argue about leaving Jim behind. They’re attacked by the male snake, but she won’t let him shoot it. They lose their goons, so now it’s just the two of them. They soon run into Tully, Reba, and the girls as well as an even-bigger female snake.

Murdoch calls in a helicopter as the snakcs and crocs start fighting with each other. One of the snakes brings down the copter, and things get weird from there. One of the snakes swallows Beach whole, and he uses a grenade from inside. That’s messy.

Elsewhere, Jim has finally swum to shore, and he’s thrilled.

Tully gets the croc-tracker from Murdoch, so now he can start rounding up the loose crocodiles. One final croc attacks, and everyone shoots it at once.

Somewhere in the woods, we watch as eggs hatch and tiny little snakes emerge…

Brian’s Commentary

Other than the original Lake Placid, this is the first of that series that I’ve seen. It seems to lean more heavily on humor than the Anaconda series.

It absolutely continued the ongoing story of the blood orchids and anacondas, although that never really did make much sense. This one was also made for TV, and it’s a lot cheesier and less serious than the previous Anaconda films.

Kevin’s Commentary

This was the fifth film in both series. We hadn’t done the Lake Placid movies (yet?) but that doesn’t matter much for seeing this one.

Again, there’s heavy and obvious CGI use. Some humor, more than the solo Anaconda movies so far. It wasn’t too bad, I thought it was fairly entertaining, it moved well and wasn’t boring. I’d give it a 6 out of 10.