Synopsis

A New York paleontologist is sent to remote Black Lake, Maine, after a series of grisly discoveries suggests that something enormous is hunting in the water. Joined by a skeptical game warden, the local sheriff, and an eccentric crocodile enthusiast, she faces a 30-foot predator while the team tries to uncover how it reached the isolated lake.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film's fictional Black Lake was portrayed by locations in British Columbia, Canada, including Shawnigan Lake, Buntzen Lake, and Hayward Lake. Principal photography took place from July 24 to October 26, 1998.

• Stan Winston Studios built a full-size animatronic crocodile with hydraulically operated jaws, head, eyes, and tail. The design was intended to function underwater and was combined with digital effects from Digital Domain.

• The crocodile puppet was tested in Castaic Lake in California before filming. Its head and tail movements gave it enough propulsion to move through the water, although it was often pulled by a wire attached to a boat for greater speed.

• Poor weather postponed production. While waiting for the shoot to begin, Steve Miner directed *Halloween H20: 20 Years Later*.

• The creature has comparatively little screen time for a major monster movie: the CGI and animatronic crocodile footage totals about three minutes and 43 seconds.

• In Spain, the film was released under the title *Mandibulas*, meaning "Jaws," as a playful reference to the Spanish title of Steven Spielberg's *Jaws*.

• Released on July 16, 1999, the film became the first entry in a series that eventually included five television sequels, including the crossover *Lake Placid vs. Anaconda*.