Amazon.com

Following in the reptilian slime trail of Anaconda, this derivative monster movie from early 1998 plays like a cross between Titanic and Tremors, with parts of Aliens tossed in for good measure. Director Stephen Sommers couldn't recognize an original idea if it swallowed him whole--which, by the way, is exactly what happens to a lot of passengers on a luxury ship that is attacked by a giant serpent-like sea creature with a voracious appetite for human flesh. Treat Williams plays the leader of a mercenary crew whose members discover the ravaged ship and wage war on the creature; Famke Janssen joins him as an onboard thief and con artist who just happens to be highly skilled with automatic weapons. Of course, the action grows more intense as the body count rises and along the way the monster is gradually revealed in all of its gruesome glory. A guilty pleasure if ever there was one, Deep Rising arrived in theaters shortly after another waterlogged thriller, Hard Rain, and if nothing else it provides proof that the B-movie monsters of the 1950s are alive and well and as cheesy as ever in the age of digital special effects. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (104)

Good graphics and not much else
This was a pathetic attempt of a horror flick. The plot was awful and the monster okay. Save your $$$$ for something else.

Titanic Is Invaded evil worm-like aliens
You must see Deep Rising. If you are a Sci-FI fan this is the hot tamale(though if you did not like Alien the movie I do not recommend this movie). The blood and gore is throughout the whole movie, so if your stomach is uneasy Deep Rising is not for you. A great action thriller about a boat driver who drives a bunch of theives to a Titanic like boat. But when the convicts arrive the find thal all the passengers had allready been robbed....of their lives. The rest is for you to find out. A must see Sci- Fi thriller.

There Should Be One More Star Reserved For This Movie (#6)
Deep Rising was a creepy-crawly, slithering, edge of your seat, hellatious ride all packed into one movie that holds your eyes to the screen until all is said and done!

Great Indiana Jonse type action and story.
Action is fast paced and special effects are excellent. Has the feel of an Indiana Jones adventure with likeble hero and sidekick. Well worth the price of the DVD

A MONSTER FROM THE DEEP ATTACKS THE "NEW TITANIC!"
BLOODY, GORY, AND EXTREMELY INTENSE, DEEP RISING REALLY DELIVERS THE ACTION! THE SEA MONSTER IN THE FILM CONSUMES EVERYONE ON BOARD THE "TITANIC-LIKE SHIP" WITH ITS NUMBEROUS TENTICLE FEEDERS AND LEAVES NO ONE ALIVE ONBOARD. BUT AT THE END THE CREATURE GETS WHATS COMING TO HIM. IT'S A MUST SEE IF YOU LIKE GORY SCI-FI ACTION MOVIES! ... Read more

Reviews (182)

So bad it's good

=>This movie is horrible (0 stars) yet so entertaining (5 stars) at the same time. (I'm not going to bother listing the actors)It follows a NY bitch, hick sheriff, eccentric man, and boring Fish & Game rep as they attempt to capture a gigantic man-eating crocodile. The characters are such morons it's laughable. For example, even though one diver was eaten the idiots go out on a tiny boat and dive and attempt to find out about the crocodile and attract it at the same time. I find Pullman lame (he does a bad job) and the Sheriff hilarious. The character interaction is great. In fact, they're all morons that hate each other, which makes it funnier. The eccentric man tries to swim with the gigantic crocodile because he thinks it's godly. There's a senile old woman the still feeds her "pet" even though it ate her husband. The special effects are mediocre at best. What do you get when you take a few hicks and a few big city yanks together with a man-eating croc? A stupid movie that is highly entertaining (aka laughable).
Want a full review with spoilers (fireflower@phayze.com)

Comic horror which undeservedly bombed in theaters
Written by David E. Kelley, the mastermind behind television's Ally McBeal and The Practice (both of which won Emmys in the "best of" categories last year), _Lake Placid_ is a comic horror film about the search for a giant crocodile, inexplicably living in a landlocked lake in upstate New York.

When a diver is eaten alive in the opening moments, by some unknown creature, the local game warden (Pullman) teams up with a paleontologist (Fonda) from New York to find the beast. Add to this mix an eccentric millionaire philanthropist with a penchant for swimming with "crocs" (Platt), and the local sheriff (Brendan Gleeson), who thinks the man is nuts, and you've got the recipe for one of the more underrated of last summer's films.

This is a horror film and it can, at times, get quite messy (see the opening attack sequence, for example). The special effects work is about what you'd expect in such a film, although with the advent of computer graphics, it's a lot easier to bring a realistic giant crocodile to life. Surprisingly, though, there are few deaths in the film.

The emphasis is more on suspenseful moments of the Jaws variety, in which we wonder whether unlucky swimmers are about to become lunch. And, there are even a couple of gross, but funny moments in the film, as when an eccentric old lady (played by Betty White) offers random farm animals as sacrifices to the croc.

But the real emphasis in the film is on the humor and there are some great conversations and arguments among the film's characters, particularly Platt's whacko croc-swimmer and Brendan Gleeson's sheriff (in one of the more unusual bits of casting, as the Irish Gleeson is forced to adopt an American accent, which tends to slip in some of the more heated moments). And White's character is also played for laughs (you'll be surprised at some of the inventive curses she comes up with).

The film wasn't particularly well-received when first released last summer, but luckily, with its release on video, this can be remedied. This is not a film for everyone's tastes, but if, like me, you occasionally hunger for a "giant-animal-runs-amuck" film, _Lake Placid_ more than fills the bill.

More Funny than Scary
I am looking for this movie because I want to buy it for my son who has seen "Jaws" already for the millionth time and I am afraid he will wear the disc out if I don't get him another comprable movie. This is the movie that I thought of that can match "Jaws" becuase it's sort of that fun, boo-scare-you, flick. It doesn't take itself seriously and the movie is full of interesting characters played by big name actors. What stood up for me is Betty White. Hands down she is the gem of this movie. It's like she won the "funny lines" lottery when they handed out the scripts. She plays a Lake resident who's husband is missing and the way she finally tells what happenned to him was so funny I was rolling on the floor. Oliver Platt got annoying, a little bit but thank god Bridget Fonda and Bill Paxton interceded with their likeable characters. I've rented this movie when it first came out on DVD and thought about buying it to include in my slumber party collection and I think this is the way this movie is going to get resurrected, through people who have a enough sense of humour and who knows what an excellent "giant animal ran amok" movie is all about. Gingerly place this next to your "Jaws," "Godzillas," "Tremors" on your DVD shelf, it belongs there.

Watch It on TV
Watch this at least once, just to hear Betty white cursing like an old salt. Then watch Hard Rain to see her as a crazy old broad out to kill looters. Then burn both films.
Let's be serious here. The psuedo-religious crocodile worshiping stuff by Oliver Platt was not needed. The idea of a crocodile living as far north as Maine is utterly laughable (damn, if they'd set it in SC or NC, I MIGHT have been able to suspend my disbelief)and the strategies used to catch it are even worse (dangle a live cow from a helicopter anyone?). Have the people involved with this film EVER seen Reptile Wild or any other program on National Geographic?

Betty White Rocks!
A Fish and Game worker is doing a survey of beavers in a placid lake with the local sherrif when he suddenly becomes half the man he was and dies. Local law enforcement, Fish and Game, and a New York museum worker set out to discover what happened. They are soon joined by an eccentric millionaire who loves crocodiles.

Is there a crocodile in the lake? At first few believe that such a thing could be until hard evidence shows up. The Crocodile is not an ordinary one, it is thirty feet in length. The camp is quickly split between those who want to kill it and those who want to save it. To learn it's fate you will have to watch the film.

This is a very well-done piece of work. The characters are interesting and there is just enough sarcastic humor to really lighten the mood. Betty White plays a foul-mouthed local resident and her delivery of her "I'm rooting for the crocodile" line is an instant classic. This is a fun film and far from typical. It is not just a giant-lizard-eating-people film. Check it out. ... Read more

Reviews (182)

So bad it's good

=>This movie is horrible (0 stars) yet so entertaining (5 stars) at the same time. (I'm not going to bother listing the actors)It follows a NY bitch, hick sheriff, eccentric man, and boring Fish & Game rep as they attempt to capture a gigantic man-eating crocodile. The characters are such morons it's laughable. For example, even though one diver was eaten the idiots go out on a tiny boat and dive and attempt to find out about the crocodile and attract it at the same time. I find Pullman lame (he does a bad job) and the Sheriff hilarious. The character interaction is great. In fact, they're all morons that hate each other, which makes it funnier. The eccentric man tries to swim with the gigantic crocodile because he thinks it's godly. There's a senile old woman the still feeds her "pet" even though it ate her husband. The special effects are mediocre at best. What do you get when you take a few hicks and a few big city yanks together with a man-eating croc? A stupid movie that is highly entertaining (aka laughable).
Want a full review with spoilers (fireflower@phayze.com)

Comic horror which undeservedly bombed in theaters
Written by David E. Kelley, the mastermind behind television's Ally McBeal and The Practice (both of which won Emmys in the "best of" categories last year), _Lake Placid_ is a comic horror film about the search for a giant crocodile, inexplicably living in a landlocked lake in upstate New York.

When a diver is eaten alive in the opening moments, by some unknown creature, the local game warden (Pullman) teams up with a paleontologist (Fonda) from New York to find the beast. Add to this mix an eccentric millionaire philanthropist with a penchant for swimming with "crocs" (Platt), and the local sheriff (Brendan Gleeson), who thinks the man is nuts, and you've got the recipe for one of the more underrated of last summer's films.

This is a horror film and it can, at times, get quite messy (see the opening attack sequence, for example). The special effects work is about what you'd expect in such a film, although with the advent of computer graphics, it's a lot easier to bring a realistic giant crocodile to life. Surprisingly, though, there are few deaths in the film.

The emphasis is more on suspenseful moments of the Jaws variety, in which we wonder whether unlucky swimmers are about to become lunch. And, there are even a couple of gross, but funny moments in the film, as when an eccentric old lady (played by Betty White) offers random farm animals as sacrifices to the croc.

But the real emphasis in the film is on the humor and there are some great conversations and arguments among the film's characters, particularly Platt's whacko croc-swimmer and Brendan Gleeson's sheriff (in one of the more unusual bits of casting, as the Irish Gleeson is forced to adopt an American accent, which tends to slip in some of the more heated moments). And White's character is also played for laughs (you'll be surprised at some of the inventive curses she comes up with).

The film wasn't particularly well-received when first released last summer, but luckily, with its release on video, this can be remedied. This is not a film for everyone's tastes, but if, like me, you occasionally hunger for a "giant-animal-runs-amuck" film, _Lake Placid_ more than fills the bill.

More Funny than Scary
I am looking for this movie because I want to buy it for my son who has seen "Jaws" already for the millionth time and I am afraid he will wear the disc out if I don't get him another comprable movie. This is the movie that I thought of that can match "Jaws" becuase it's sort of that fun, boo-scare-you, flick. It doesn't take itself seriously and the movie is full of interesting characters played by big name actors. What stood up for me is Betty White. Hands down she is the gem of this movie. It's like she won the "funny lines" lottery when they handed out the scripts. She plays a Lake resident who's husband is missing and the way she finally tells what happenned to him was so funny I was rolling on the floor. Oliver Platt got annoying, a little bit but thank god Bridget Fonda and Bill Paxton interceded with their likeable characters. I've rented this movie when it first came out on DVD and thought about buying it to include in my slumber party collection and I think this is the way this movie is going to get resurrected, through people who have a enough sense of humour and who knows what an excellent "giant animal ran amok" movie is all about. Gingerly place this next to your "Jaws," "Godzillas," "Tremors" on your DVD shelf, it belongs there.

Watch It on TV
Watch this at least once, just to hear Betty white cursing like an old salt. Then watch Hard Rain to see her as a crazy old broad out to kill looters. Then burn both films.
Let's be serious here. The psuedo-religious crocodile worshiping stuff by Oliver Platt was not needed. The idea of a crocodile living as far north as Maine is utterly laughable (damn, if they'd set it in SC or NC, I MIGHT have been able to suspend my disbelief)and the strategies used to catch it are even worse (dangle a live cow from a helicopter anyone?). Have the people involved with this film EVER seen Reptile Wild or any other program on National Geographic?

Betty White Rocks!
A Fish and Game worker is doing a survey of beavers in a placid lake with the local sherrif when he suddenly becomes half the man he was and dies. Local law enforcement, Fish and Game, and a New York museum worker set out to discover what happened. They are soon joined by an eccentric millionaire who loves crocodiles.

Is there a crocodile in the lake? At first few believe that such a thing could be until hard evidence shows up. The Crocodile is not an ordinary one, it is thirty feet in length. The camp is quickly split between those who want to kill it and those who want to save it. To learn it's fate you will have to watch the film.

This is a very well-done piece of work. The characters are interesting and there is just enough sarcastic humor to really lighten the mood. Betty White plays a foul-mouthed local resident and her delivery of her "I'm rooting for the crocodile" line is an instant classic. This is a fun film and far from typical. It is not just a giant-lizard-eating-people film. Check it out. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Christopher Lambert, the imposing French actor with the nasal whine best known to American audiences as Scottish swordsman Highlander, plays a rank amateur in The Hunted. He's an American businessman in Japan who lucks into a one-night stand with slinky Joan Chen and winds up a witness to her murder by a mysterious band of black-clad ninjas. Escaping not one but two attempts on his life by a little quick thinking and a lot of dumb luck, he winds up on a harrowing bullet train ride. As swarms of masked assassins decimate passengers in search of the elusive eyewitness, Lambert's laconic protector, rough-edged samurai Yoshio Harada, unleashes a martial arts frenzy of flashing swords in close quarters. His savior is not as altruistic as he seems, however. He just wants to lure mysterious ninja overlord John Lone out of hiding and into a fight to the death on Harada's island fortress, and Lambert is little more than live bait. Though it made few ripples at the box office, The Hunted is a slick and surprisingly smart thriller. Lone and Harada cut striking figures as the warriors following ancient codes in the modern world, and writer-director J.F. Lawton (screenwriter of Pretty Woman and Under Siege) gives them almost as much screen time as ostensible hero Lambert. The action scenes are furious and fast paced, lacking the grace and precision of real Japanese samurai adventures but full of clever flourishes. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (23)

BUY THIS MOVIE
Holy moly... I can't begin to tell you how pleasantly surprised I was after watching this movie. Don't let the boring DVD cover or leading man fool you. Christopher Lambert is just an ordinary business man visiting Japan. John Lone & Yoshio Harada make the flick. Tak Kubota as Oshima gave the movie a bit of comic relief as well. The fight scenes are absolutely astounding. I watched this movie dog tired & was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I had to recommend it to all of my friends the very next day. I'm watching it AGAIN as I am typing this review. Two words... "Train Scene." If you want to know what I'm talking about, BUY THE MOVIE.

Have you ever watched a flick that was so good, with the main characters being so ruthless & believable that you couldn't help but get goosebumps? Well, here's an excerpt from the film that will give nothing away but a brief foreshadowing of just how good the Samurai was:

Paul Racine: What do we do if he loses?
Meiko: Takeda will not lose...

Have you got goosebumps yet? Those of you expecting a cheesy movie w/ horrible acting, CGI & impossible stunts done with cables, turn the other way. I bought this movie site unseen & without any recommendation from anyone except the plethora of 5 star reviews from Amazon. It was well worth the money & you will not be disappointed.

A completely underrated movie.
This is a beautifully made picture, full of smooth action scenes, breathtaking scenery, and a little romance mixed in to boot. I won't go on with an overview of the plot; you can read that above, I'd like to focus on the DVD. The movie is displayed in a widescreen ratio, and is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. Special feature wise the movie is lacking, it only contains a theatrical trailer and some production notes. I personally would have loved to see a nice featurette on the choreography but I'm afraid not this time. The movie itself is not some B or C movie as you would expect from a movie with as little exposure as this one got. That's right folks, no cheese, excellent cast, excellent acting. Furthermore the film is historically correct, as far as I can tell, everything right down to the Takeda family crest; with the exception of the ferocity of the ninja, they wouldn't just kill to kill. Anybody who loves the Eastern culture and martial art films will love this movie, but it is not completely "chop saki" using the story as an excuse to start the next fight. This is most definitely a DVD to add to the collection.

This movie is pathetic
I'm giving up reading the reviews in Amazon. They are worthless. This film is pathetic in just about every way - plot, acting, fight sequences, etc. Yet it gets 4-5 stars. Are the reviews written by investors? Does anyone find these reviews helpful?

The worst ninja movie ever
I'm surprised Japan didn't commit a second Pearl Harbor after this movie. I'm even more shocked that it has 4.5/5 stars as an Amazon score.

What is good about this movie: one character named Takeda, who is an excellent Japanese swordsman and a very likable guy. His personality is smooth and clever. However, he's not the main character.

As usual, any American movie made in an Asian country needs a white man to lead the title role. Christopher Lambert's character is a doof who has sex with a hot Asian girl only because she's about to be killed by ninjas and doesn't want to die a virgin...so she picks the first dumb clod in the bar. Unfortunately Chris goes back to her room after the ninjas up 'n kill her, so now he has ninjas on his head.

He's eventually put in a hospital with a police guard, but the ninjas kill all the police men. This is because the police men RUN INTO THE NINJAS! Thats right, instead of pulling out their guns and dropping a big black thing standing in the middle of a hospital room, they just run up and get stabbed.

It gets better. Mainly, lots of more needless carnage. The ninjas take decide to kill every one in a train to get to Christopher Lambert. Then the final showdown on Takeda's island, which has lots of more needless violence.

Takeda is taken out in a very cheap, dumb way. Why do they do this? So Christopher Lambert, who has had only three days of sword training, can take out Japan's top ninja. I guess since he's a white guy, taking out a weak Asian man is easy. At least that's what I get from the script.

This movie left me with such aggravation at how BAD it was - not only from the bad storyline, but the constantly needless violence and cliches - that I don't understand why there exist people that like this movie. I wouldn't suggest any one watch this film unless you greatly desire to feel your brain slowly ooze out of your ears.

Great Movie!
My wife and I saw this at the theater when it first came with not a whole lot of fan fare or pre-movie hype. We saw it because at the time there wasn't much else out that deserved the inflated theater ticket prices !
We were definitely surprised and delightfully pleased to learn this movie was well worth the sticker price and will warrant the outlay of an additional 20-30 bucks to add to our DVD collection. Do not listen to the negative publicity they are just trying to get a rise from the rest of us that are giving it good reviews.
I have always been a big Lambert fan, especialy for his portrayal
of Lord Greystoke, as well as Highlander. You have to set aside your knowledge that Christopher is already well versed in sword play because in this movie he has to be a regular Joe who learns from the beginning how to wield a sword and by the time he needs that ability his experience is clearly able to shine !
So I am happy to give this one 5 stars for a job well done ! ... Read more

Reviews (182)

So bad it's good

=>This movie is horrible (0 stars) yet so entertaining (5 stars) at the same time. (I'm not going to bother listing the actors)It follows a NY bitch, hick sheriff, eccentric man, and boring Fish & Game rep as they attempt to capture a gigantic man-eating crocodile. The characters are such morons it's laughable. For example, even though one diver was eaten the idiots go out on a tiny boat and dive and attempt to find out about the crocodile and attract it at the same time. I find Pullman lame (he does a bad job) and the Sheriff hilarious. The character interaction is great. In fact, they're all morons that hate each other, which makes it funnier. The eccentric man tries to swim with the gigantic crocodile because he thinks it's godly. There's a senile old woman the still feeds her "pet" even though it ate her husband. The special effects are mediocre at best. What do you get when you take a few hicks and a few big city yanks together with a man-eating croc? A stupid movie that is highly entertaining (aka laughable).
Want a full review with spoilers (fireflower@phayze.com)

Comic horror which undeservedly bombed in theaters
Written by David E. Kelley, the mastermind behind television's Ally McBeal and The Practice (both of which won Emmys in the "best of" categories last year), _Lake Placid_ is a comic horror film about the search for a giant crocodile, inexplicably living in a landlocked lake in upstate New York.

When a diver is eaten alive in the opening moments, by some unknown creature, the local game warden (Pullman) teams up with a paleontologist (Fonda) from New York to find the beast. Add to this mix an eccentric millionaire philanthropist with a penchant for swimming with "crocs" (Platt), and the local sheriff (Brendan Gleeson), who thinks the man is nuts, and you've got the recipe for one of the more underrated of last summer's films.

This is a horror film and it can, at times, get quite messy (see the opening attack sequence, for example). The special effects work is about what you'd expect in such a film, although with the advent of computer graphics, it's a lot easier to bring a realistic giant crocodile to life. Surprisingly, though, there are few deaths in the film.

The emphasis is more on suspenseful moments of the Jaws variety, in which we wonder whether unlucky swimmers are about to become lunch. And, there are even a couple of gross, but funny moments in the film, as when an eccentric old lady (played by Betty White) offers random farm animals as sacrifices to the croc.

But the real emphasis in the film is on the humor and there are some great conversations and arguments among the film's characters, particularly Platt's whacko croc-swimmer and Brendan Gleeson's sheriff (in one of the more unusual bits of casting, as the Irish Gleeson is forced to adopt an American accent, which tends to slip in some of the more heated moments). And White's character is also played for laughs (you'll be surprised at some of the inventive curses she comes up with).

The film wasn't particularly well-received when first released last summer, but luckily, with its release on video, this can be remedied. This is not a film for everyone's tastes, but if, like me, you occasionally hunger for a "giant-animal-runs-amuck" film, _Lake Placid_ more than fills the bill.

More Funny than Scary
I am looking for this movie because I want to buy it for my son who has seen "Jaws" already for the millionth time and I am afraid he will wear the disc out if I don't get him another comprable movie. This is the movie that I thought of that can match "Jaws" becuase it's sort of that fun, boo-scare-you, flick. It doesn't take itself seriously and the movie is full of interesting characters played by big name actors. What stood up for me is Betty White. Hands down she is the gem of this movie. It's like she won the "funny lines" lottery when they handed out the scripts. She plays a Lake resident who's husband is missing and the way she finally tells what happenned to him was so funny I was rolling on the floor. Oliver Platt got annoying, a little bit but thank god Bridget Fonda and Bill Paxton interceded with their likeable characters. I've rented this movie when it first came out on DVD and thought about buying it to include in my slumber party collection and I think this is the way this movie is going to get resurrected, through people who have a enough sense of humour and who knows what an excellent "giant animal ran amok" movie is all about. Gingerly place this next to your "Jaws," "Godzillas," "Tremors" on your DVD shelf, it belongs there.

Watch It on TV
Watch this at least once, just to hear Betty white cursing like an old salt. Then watch Hard Rain to see her as a crazy old broad out to kill looters. Then burn both films.
Let's be serious here. The psuedo-religious crocodile worshiping stuff by Oliver Platt was not needed. The idea of a crocodile living as far north as Maine is utterly laughable (damn, if they'd set it in SC or NC, I MIGHT have been able to suspend my disbelief)and the strategies used to catch it are even worse (dangle a live cow from a helicopter anyone?). Have the people involved with this film EVER seen Reptile Wild or any other program on National Geographic?

Betty White Rocks!
A Fish and Game worker is doing a survey of beavers in a placid lake with the local sherrif when he suddenly becomes half the man he was and dies. Local law enforcement, Fish and Game, and a New York museum worker set out to discover what happened. They are soon joined by an eccentric millionaire who loves crocodiles.

Is there a crocodile in the lake? At first few believe that such a thing could be until hard evidence shows up. The Crocodile is not an ordinary one, it is thirty feet in length. The camp is quickly split between those who want to kill it and those who want to save it. To learn it's fate you will have to watch the film.

This is a very well-done piece of work. The characters are interesting and there is just enough sarcastic humor to really lighten the mood. Betty White plays a foul-mouthed local resident and her delivery of her "I'm rooting for the crocodile" line is an instant classic. This is a fun film and far from typical. It is not just a giant-lizard-eating-people film. Check it out. ... Read more