Lake Placid 2 (2007)

It may sound like ridiculous hyperbole, but I can think of few first sequels that have been as big a step down in quality as Lake Placid 2, a film that was released directly to the Sci-Fi/SyFy Channel in 2007, eight years after the sharp and witty first movie. It's a miracle that this is even watchable, thanks to writers Tood Hurvitz and Howie Miller at least occasionally trying to sprinkle in some of the humour that made the first film work so well.

The plot is very simple. Killer crocodiles are on the loose. Yes, there's more than one this time around. Sheriff James Riley (John Schneider) ends up working with Fish & Game Officer Emily (Sarah Lafleur) to get to the bottom of things. They end up being assisted by a poacher named Struthers (Sam McMurray), as well as his assistant, Ahmad (Joe Holt). Meanwhile, elsewhere around the lake area, the Sheriff's son, Scott (Chad Michael Collins), is enjoying the company of Kerri (Alicia Ziegler) and a few other potential croc snacks. And you have Cloris Leachman in the role of Sadie Bickerman, a relative of the character played by Betty White in the first movie.

It's a real shame about Lake Placid 2, and about the other films that would come after it. Some of the people involved try, despite the first film setting a surprisingly high benchmark, but then they have to rely on someone delivering the special effects. These special effects seem to have been created by a CGI company who forgot about their deadline until the very last hour, after having spent a full day in their local pub. The killer crocodiles shown here are just about on a par with anything seen in the earlier Resident Evil videogames. They're crude, move without the menacing fluidity of a real crocodile, and generate much more laughter than tension.

Director David Flores has just over half a dozen TV movies to his credit, as a director, and it's no surprise to see that most of his films were in this kind of vein (i.e. standard SyFy Channel movie stuff). Hurvitz and Miller have spent most of their career writing for TV shows, but they don't do a terrible job here. Yes, you get plenty of familiarity, because of the simplicity of the set-ups and the need to nod to the first film, but they at least try to craft some decent chemistry between the main adult leads.

Schneider is a decent enough lead, acting nicely laid back and easygoing for the most part. Lafleur does well alongside him, although she's often just there to explain either the creature or the background of new characters. McMurray is a lot of fun, although I did feel sorry for Holt, stuck playing a character who feels not too far removed from a "Friday" character (from Robinson Crusoe, not from the Ice Cube/Chris Tucker movie). Collins, Ziegler, and co. are all much less interesting, and obviously there to be placed in peril. Leachman is enjoyable, and would have been an absolute highlight if her character wasn’t just there to try recreating the fun turn from White.

Lake Placid was a great film. From what I know of the sequels, and there are many, none of them come close to the original. But that won’t stop me watching them all anyway (some of them for a second time).

3/10

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Terminal Invasion (2002)

Terminal Invasion is not the kind of movie that you'll be likely to hold in high regard. It's no great piece of film-making. Yet it's still an enjoyable enough slice of fun, thanks to the brisk pacing, a lack of pretension, and Bruce Campbell in the lead role.

Campbell plays Jack, a prisoner who ends up in a tiny airport with two officers guarding him closely. One trip to the gents later, everything gets a bit strange and dangerous. People are dead, and Jack is the one being blamed by the other people in the airport, including the security guard. It turns out that the killer was an alien, and it may not be the only one in the airport. Jack tries to convince others of the danger that they're in, but if they don't want to believe him then he'll do whatever it takes to break free and make sure that the one pilot in their midst (Chase Masterson) flies him all the way to another country.

Directed by Sean S. Cunninghman, the man perhaps best described as part horror maestro and part carnival barker, this is standard b-movie fun, trying to overcome its low budget with the charisma of Campbell and the potential fun of the premise. It's hard to believe that it took three people to write the script (Lewis Abernathy, John Jarrell and Robinson Young), but it's not as flat and lifeless as many other TV movies of this ilk.

A large part of that, however, is all down to Campbell, who has cornered the b-movie market in smartass, cool anti-heroes. Masterson makes for a decent partner, as the bizarre reality of the situation becomes clear, and Kedar Brown and Sarah Lafleur also do pretty good work. Jason Jones, one of the more recognisable faces in the supporting cast, is onscreen for a little while, and he's the only other one to make a decent impression. Andrew Tarbet, C. David Johnson, Marcia Bennett, and others populate the story without ever feeling like more than stock characters/fodder for the dangerous alien.

There are attempts made to keep viewers on their toes, each one being either too predictable or too laughably silly to work. Still, I appreciate the effort. It may be nothing more than an average film, when all of the pros and cons are weighed up, but it could have been much worse.

5/10

http://www.amazon.com/Terminal-Invasion-Bruce-Campbell/dp/B001KEGR5W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405626342&sr=8-1&keywords=terminal+invasion