Villian(s)  Dinosaur

Actor(s):  Richard Cardella, Glen Roberts, Mark Siegel, Bob Hyman

Brief Description  The Crater Lake Monster (1977) is an American independent B-horror film directed by William R. Stromberg and starring Richard Cardella. The plot follows a meteorite crashing into a lake in Northern California, where its intense heat hatches a prehistoric plesiosaur egg. The giant creature begins terrorizing the local mountain community, forcing Sheriff Steve Hanson (Cardella) to investigate a string of mysterious deaths and animal attacks.

Plot:
A pair of archaeologists discovers unique prehistoric cave drawings right before a meteor crashes into the nearby lake. The meteor heats the lake water by 90 degrees, incubating a dormant dinosaur egg. Within months, the local fish supply vanishes, and a fully grown, aggressive plesiosaur begins hunting cattle and humans on land and water. Sheriff Hanson tries to protect the small town and warns local boat-rental owners to keep tourists off the water. When the monster is finally spotted, scientists plead with the sheriff to capture it alive, leading to a conflict over how to handle the beast. The creature continues its rampage until it is ultimately confronted and killed with a bulldozer, later succumbing to dehydration.