The Crater Lake Monster is one of those films that I was extremely fond of back in my early childhood. Over the years this film has taken quite a verbal bashing but I think it's a truly underrated creature feature and deserves a lot more respect. Interestingly enough, I was contacted a while back by Richard Cardella who starred as Sheriff Hanson. Though I never got to speak more with him, he seemed like a great guy and was really optimistic about his first and last starring role in CLM. And interestingly enough, all his friends near his current home in Northern California don't have a clue about his "nefarious" past as a b-movie actor. Whoops! Hope I didn't tip them off!

Anyway, let's move on to the film at hand, shall we? Crater Lake Monster begins with Dan, Susan, and Dr. Calkins going into an abandoned coal mine. Within it they have discovered cave drawings of Indians battling an aquatic dinosaur. This find excites them quite a bit since it's always been theorized that dinosaurs had died out long before humanity took over the Earth. Moments after they enter the cavern, the three of them have to run like hell to escape. Apparently a meteorite (or in this case a flaming marshmallow) splashed down in nearby Crater Lake and caused a small earthquake which has now sealed up the cave.

From this point on Dan and Susan, whom I believed where going to be major characters, won't see much more screen time until the end. And Doctor Calkins' role isn't much bigger. He makes a few brief appearances to provide some extra padding for the film. So who are the major characters? Namely the claymation dinosaur and Sheriff Steve Hanson. The remainder of the cast includes the moronic, yet loveable duo of Arnie and Mitch. My only gripe with these two is that the names just don't fit the faces!

Soon after the landing of the meteorite, Doc Calkin, Sheriff Hanson, Dan, and Susan sail out on Crater Lake and attempt to retrieve the fallen object. The meteorite is still too hot to handle so they leave it to cool down for a day or five. Afterwards, we're treated to "mystical" music and some panoramic shots of Crater Lake(?). This is actually supposed to be a time lapse and it's been six months since that darned meteorite struck Crater Lake (according to a later conversation between Doc Calkin and Sheriff Hanson). After the time lapse, a hiker becomes the first meal for the film's titular creature.

But where did this carnivorous beastie come from? Well theory has it that the meteorite must have heated the ENTIRE lake so much (which is highly implausible due to the size of the lake), that it caused an ancient egg to hatch. So the Plesiosaur has officially gone on the rampage, eating helpless people, causing vast amounts of property damage, and staving off an ineffective military right? Wrong! Instead, the movie drags it's feet and gives the viewing audience ample amounts of padding, a few brief glimpses of the Plesiosaur, and one of the dumbest liquor store robberies of all time!

As the movie progresses, Arnie and Mitch rent out a boat to a snobby fellow (who we later learn was a United States Senator... good riddance!). Since the gentleman's all alone on the water, the Plesiosaur is obligated to eat him. After that incident, Sheriff Hanson tells Arnie and Mitch not to rent out anymore boats or even go near the lake. Unfortunately, they did rent out one boat to a lovestruck couple named Paula and Ross, sheer moments before the Sheriff's warning. (DOH!) Meanwhile, out on the lake, Paula and Ross drift silently out on the lake and cuddle until the boat begins to rock "violently." Ross starts up the motor and takes off so fast that he passes through time itself! Just kidding about that, but that's how it looks (night one minute, daytime the next).

Ross drives the boat onto a sandbar and sets it on fire, thus saving both he and Paula from certain death. In the morning, Arnie and Mitch find and rescue the shocked couple, only to get yelled at again by Sheriff Hanson (even though they rented out the boat BEFORE he told them not to). At this point, the movie shifts gears and tosses in an unnamed character that must've been the lovechild of Hulk Hogan and Sam Elliot. Seeing that he's out of booze, this gruff looking fellow heads to a liquor store and pulls one of the dumbest robberies ever! He walks up to the counter with a pint(?) of booze and pulls on a gun on the clerk, then kills the poor bastard! A woman who was in the store at the time witnesses the shooting and screams. She gets plugged too! Was the Jack Daniels really worth all this death man?!

Later on, the robber is at a diner, just as Sheriff Hanson shows up. The worried robber tries to sneak away but is seen by the wily Sheriff. A car chase ensues, preceded by a short shoot-out in the parking lot. The Sheriff gallantly gives chase in his ... station wagon?! (Or perhaps his squad car just doubles as a hearse. It is a small town.) The sheriff chases the guy through some backroads towards Crater Lake when suddenly, the robber pulls the dumbest stunt I've ever seen! He rolls out of his car just before it rolls off of a cliff, trying to give the illusion that he pulled a "Thelma and Louise." This whole plan fails entirely as he gets up and runs across the road right past the sheriff. YOU IDIOT!

For his complete and utter stupidity, the robber is shot in the leg. As he drags his wounded leg toward the edge of Crater Lake, he gets eaten by the Plesiosaur. Somehow, Sheriff Hanson manages to not hear or see any of this, despite the fact he was hiding behind a nearby tree! He naturally reports this odd event to Doc: "One minute he was there Doc, and then he was gone. All I found was a pool of blood by the water." After this puzzling death, Sheriff Hanson visits a small beach on the shore of the lake and finds strange grooves in the sand. His investigation is soon over when the Plesiosaur seizes the moment and charges at him. The Sheriff escapes his aquatic assailant and speeds off to see Dan, Susan, and Doc.

While they try and decide what to do, the Plesiosaur takes some initiative and leaves it's watery home. By some twist of fate, it arrives at a local diner (it heard the blue plate special was out of this world!) where the final showdown takes place. Dan and Susan want the creature alive for scientific purposes but Sheriff Hanson will have none of that! He hops behind the controls of a nearby bulldozer and slowly rides into battle against the Plesiosaur. (Man and machine versus prehistoric monster? I wonder if this is where Roger Corman got his idea for the finale of Carnosaur?) Arnie hitches a ride with the sheriff in order to "protect his interests" (Plesiosaur = lots of money) and ends up getting chomped. Then Hanson easily defeats his prehistoric nemesis by chopping it's neck repeatedly with the bulldozer's blade, allowing him to ensure man's dominance over nature.

Despite the slow pacing and large amounts of padding (partly due to the film's low-budget), The Crater Lake Monster is, in my opinion, one of the better films of it's particular genre. The highlight of the film is the stop motion Plesiosaur, which was brought to life by Jim Danforth who has had a very impressive career in special effects. (It's also interesting to note that Phil Tippet did the miniatures for this film. Phil's more recent effects credits include Robocop and Starship Troopers.) Overall, the film is simply average: the acting is decent, the effects are passable, and there are a few unintentionally funny moments (e.g. the liquor store heist). It's not the greatest dinosaur-on-the-loose film ever made, but a worthy effort nonetheless.