Lake Placid: Legacy 2018

A group of activist friends heads to a remote island in the middle of a lake, a mission that brings Jade [Katherine Barrell], her sister Alice [Sai Bennett], Jade’s boyfriend Sam [Tim Rozon], and their pals Billy [Luke Newton] and Spencer [Craig Stein], into the company of two rangers, Pennie [Alisha Bailey] and Travis [Greg Kriek]. The expedition is sparked by a video message from Sam’s friend Dane [Maxim Baldry], who dares them to visit an abandoned research facility on the island, promising answers and danger in equal measure. The crew arrives with a mix of determination and unease, the wind and water adding a sense of isolation that thickens as the boat reels back from shore.

On arrival, the group makes a grim discovery—the body of Gomez [Gavin Lee Gomes] hanging from a tree, a chilling sign that something dangerous lurks in this place. Dane’s camera is found nearby, and through it, the group learns of Henderson [Joe Pantoliano], the facility’s former employee who allegedly abandoned Dane before an attack occurred. The mood shifts from curiosity to alarm as the island tests their resolve and their trust in one another. They attempt to leave, but the boat drifts away, leaving them marooned. A rope drags Pennie into the water, and when Travis tries to intervene, he is pulled under and killed by the same unseen force that haunts the island. Sam manages to pull Pennie back to safety, though her leg is badly injured, and the survivors realize they are stranded with limited chances of rescue.

Seeking help, Jade, Sam, and Alice push forward into the facility itself, hoping for communication or shelter. Inside, they face a predator unlike anything they’ve encountered—an enormous 30-foot crocodile that stalks the grounds with patient, devastating precision. The group splits in a bid to cover more ground and increase their odds of escape. Billy, Spencer, and Pennie head toward a dock area, where Billy hopes to reach the police via an electrical outlet, only to be thwarted by a failing signal. The crocodile strikes again, pulling Spencer into the water and obliterating him as the others scramble to keep their distance. Pennie, determined to shield the others, creates a diversion that draws the creature away, but the pursuit continues and the crocodile follows her into a dark tunnel, where she is killed in a brutal, swift attack.

The trio—Jade, Sam, and Alice—press on and stumble upon Dane alive, who leads them to Henderson and the eerie truth of the facility. Henderson reveals a chilling history: a project to weaponize crocodiles, a program shut down after the scientists botched or abandoned it. He had recovered a handful of juvenile samples and used Dane and Gomez as pawns to re-enter the facility and push the experiments forward again. Outside, Billy manages to contact the remaining survivors from another building, but his hope is short-lived as the crocodile breaches the structure and kills him. Chaos erupts as Henderson slips away amid the confusion, and the remaining four (Jade, Sam, Alice, and Dane) struggle to escape the collapsing, water-flooded complex.

With the compound flooding, the group dives deeper into the facility’s labyrinth, briefly eluding the predator only to realize Henderson’s plan is more about control than safety. Henderson’s bid to trap them by flooding the building backfires as they swim through the inundated corridors into a different section of the facility. Yet the crocodile is relentless, closing the distance with terrifying speed and finally catching up to Dane and ending his life in a brutal attack. Henderson attempts to capture the animal, but the croc remains a formidable force of nature, killing him as well.

In a last, desperate plan, Jade, Sam, and Alice discover a room stocked with gas cans. Sam devises a risky plan to use the gas to kill the creature, urging Jade and Alice to escape while he stays behind to execute it. He ignites a flare to ignite the gas, but the flare malfunctions, and he is quickly consumed by the predator. The crocodile continues its pursuit, driving the trio into the woods and narrowing the distance until it corners Alice. Jade, resourceful and calm under pressure, traps the beast with an excavator and uses the machine’s fuel in combination with a lighter to create a fatal ignition. The creature is killed, but the victory is shadowed by the return to shore.

Emerging from the woods, Jade and Alice begin swimming back toward the mainland, only to discover a second crocodile lurking in the water beneath them. The film closes on this ominous twist, leaving the fate of the last survivors uncertain and underscoring the island’s deadly secret: danger can arise twice, when hope is just within reach.

This harrowing journey blends survival drama with a sharp, eerie mystery, anchored by a diverse cast whose performances drive the story’s emotional throughline—from the stubborn determination of Jade [Katherine Barrell] to the wary resilience of Alice [Sai Bennett], the stalwart protection of Sam [Tim Rozon], and the tragic losses of friends along the way. The chilling effectiveness of the island setting—isolated, claustrophobic, and unforgiving—amplifies the peril, turning what begins as an activist expedition into a brutal fight for life against a predator that defies easy explanation.