Horror Movie Review: Lake Placid 3 (2010)

The third film in the Lake Placid franchise (it’s still unbelievable that is an actual thing), the straight to TV comedy horror Lake Placid 3 comes from writer David Reed and director Griff Furst. It stars Colin Ferguson, Yancy Butler, Kirsty Mitchell, Kacey Clarke, Jordan Grehs, and Michael Ironside.

You can read our reviews of the franchise so far, below.

1999 – Lake Placid
2007 – Lake Placid 2

Beginning one year after the events of the second film, Lake Placid 3 begins strongly, as a couple having sex are killed by some baby crocs. It’s the one and only time, the film manages to get a laugh. All thanks to some unfortunate oral sex action.

Now dead following the events of the second film, Sadie Bickerman’s nephew Nathan and his family are planning to clean up her house and sell it. Nathan would like to keep the place and live there, but his concerns over any surviving crocs are too great. At least until the sheriff arrives and convinces him that the lake is clear of the beasts.

While this is going on, Nathan’s young son Connor chases a lizard to the lake and comes across the baby crocodiles. So, naturally he starts to feed them in secret. It just gets sillier from here on.

Two years later…

The crocodiles are now adults and Connor is struggling to keep up with their dietary demands, resorting to stealing meat from the local shop. It’s not enough though, the crocs are hungry and there’s now plenty of good eating on the lake. Teenagers, a hunter named Reba, Nathan, and whoever else is in the movie.

Nobody cares, the story is as basic as it comes and the characters are mostly forgettable. It feels like a TV movie and the actors treat it like such. It’s all about the crocs and Lake Placid 3 is extremely croc-heavy. Having complained about the lack of action in the average original, Lake Placid 2 stepped up and gave us a lot more. Lake Placid 3 goes even further and turns the crocs into the stars of the film.

Which is a problem. As every other aspect of the movie is overshadowing by constant crocodile action.

Action that is mostly CGI, and not good CGI either. Lake Placid 2 looked rough but this is way worse. There’s something hilarious about watching average actors pretending to be scared of something that is clearly not there. While that may be normal for all CGI, few films make it so obvious as Lake Placid 3.

By the time it reaches its final stages, most will be truly sick of the crocodiles and what Lake Placid 3 has to offer. It could have been worse, but not by much.