Review of Lake Placid: The Final Chapter

LAKE PLACID: THE FINAL CHAPTER is another silly and sloppy monster flick made by the SyFy Channel. It's the fourth in the series and the last to date, I think; at least I hope so, because the quality has significantly dropped over the instalments (although I never did like the original's jokey tone to begin with). An aged Yancy Butler returns from part three as a tough-talking warden hunting for killer alligators, and various B-characters get involved in the plot which mainly consists of them running around and getting chomped one by one. The story is a mix of bits and pieces from here and there, with references to JURASSIC PARK 3 at one point. The CGI, in terms of both monsters and gore, is very poor indeed, on the level of a '90s computer game. The only enjoyment I got out of this were the presence of actors Robert Englund (reliably grouchy) and Paul Nicholls, a British actor formerly of EASTENDERS, fairly convincing as an all-American hero.