A cult classic creature feature that spawned 4 terrible sequels and a worse crossover chows down on streaming

There’s an unwritten rule somewhere that states any notable horror franchise must be run into the ground through a myriad of subpar sequels, spinoffs, reboots, remakes, and/or crossovers, a recurring fate that even befell 1999’s Lake Placid, which wasn’t even particularly successful to begin with.

The tongue-in-cheek creature feature only earned $57 million at the box office on a $35 million budget, but strong word-of-mouth and an impressively lengthy second life on home video ensured that it eventually gained cult classic status. Even if it had flopped, the film would be worth recommending on the strength of Betty White’s phenomenal scene-stealing performance alone.

And yet, after almost a decade in the wilderness, Lake Placid 2 arrived in 2007, where it was inevitably followed by a threequel, and then 2012’s wildly misleading The Final Chapter. Despite the fairly definitive suffix, we still got two more giant crocodile flicks out of the bargain, with the abominable Lake Placid vs. Anaconda being followed by fifth – and so far final – chapter Legacy.

It’s the OG that’s been chowing down on the streaming charts this weekend, though, and in some style. Per FlixPatrol, Bill Pullman and Brendan Gleeson investigating the body count being racked up by an enormous prehistoric beast with an unquenchable thirst for human flesh hasn’t just re-entered the iTunes global rankings, but it’s only gone ahead and become the number one top-viewed feature in the United Kingdom.

Clearly, the Brits have been stricken by the unexplainable desire to scratch their monster mash itch, and nobody seems to know why.