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Overall Rating : 6/10
Directed By : Lewis Teague
Robert Forster (Vigilante)
Robin Riker (Read It and Weep)
Michael V. Gazzo (The Godfather Part II)
Dean Jagger (Evil Town)
Supplied By : Lionsgate Films
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : September. 20, 2007
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| PLOT After returning from their Florida vacation, the Kendal family decided their pet baby alligator was too much of a nuisance and flushed him down the toilet. At the same time, Slade Laboratories was conducting secret hormonal experiments with animals and the carcasses were disposed of in the city sewer. The baby alligator fed on the dead dogs… and after twelve years its body chemistry took on grotesque mutations. When several brutal murders are discovered, David Madison is put on the case to find the so-called Jack-the-Ripper killer. But this is no human psychopath – it is a ravaging animal-turned-monster bent on destroying everything in its wake |
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| THE REVIEW In 1980's ALLIGATOR, writers John Sayles and Frank Ray Perilli and Director Lewis Teague present a creature feature based on an old Urban Legend, the Urban Legend of what happens to baby alligators that are flushed down the toilet by owners not willing to care for them anymore. The legend states that they do not die, and actually live in sewers within the major sewers of America - this film would try to prove this legend to be real. 12 Years ago, after returning from a trip to Florida, young Marisa brings home her very own baby alligator. It turns out that no matter how good a pet they imagined the alligator to be, it really ban to be a nuisance around the house - to solve this Marisa flushes it down the toilet, later planning to tell young Marisa they had buried it. It's 12 years later, and for years the very alligator has lived, feeding on whatever the sewer had to offer. Things would soon get worse as a local laboratory Slade Pharmaceutical, has been conducting suspicious tests on animals in which they inject them with growth hormone. Instead of disposing of the dead bodies in a proper way, guess where the bodies go, yes, that's right, the sewer system And there waiting to feed is the Alligator, and he later continues to grow bigger, and so does his appetite as he begins to hunt humans. David Madison from the beginning is put on the case to hunt down what the force believes to be a serial killer - but when severed limbs begin to surface from the waters close to the sewers, he suspects something far more menacing - and he later finds that his instincts are true when he see his partner devoured by the creature. With everyone not believing him, and eventually abandoned by the force, he and his Girlfriend, the now grown-up Marisa( who's now a reptile expert), take matters into their own hands to put an end to the enormous alligator. You know, it's funny that I should review this, because not long ago I saw a program on some cable channel dealing with this exact Urban Legend. The Legend had something to do which people flushing their unwanted pet baby alligators down the toilet, and then those alligators growing up and living underground in the sewers - I don't know who made this up, but one things for sure, is that it makes for a great creature feature....a brilliant one at that. This is the film that Director Lewis Teague Directed that eventually caught the eye of Horror writer Steven King, and the result was that King wanted Teague to direct. possibly Teague's more popular film, CUJO. In ALLIGATOR, Teague uses the some shooting style that we would later become familiar with in CUJO such as the point-of-view shots - here we look through the alligator's eyes, much like we take the vision front and center of the dog in CUJO - it all makes for a fun experience. To say that this film is a serious one is an understatement. I'd say that this film is partly crime drama and partly cheesy creature feature. The investigation in the film is on a serious note, and while the suspect is a larger than life alligator, you knew some jokes would be in would definitely be in tow. But I think the filmmakers did a rather good job of keeping things balanced, the "funny" in the film isn't emphasized to the point where the film just becomes very ridiculous - much like the films that air on the SCI-FI Channel these days - there is still a steady of believability in tact, As for the alligator itself, it was a giant anatronically controlled one, and sure it doesn't look 100% real constantly trough out the film, but at times it's actually pretty impressive. If one thing is for sure, Director Lewis Teague, definitely has an eye for directing creature features, and knows just what to do to make the creature's presence seem real. Although the alligator in this film is impressive, I would still have to say that CUJO was even more impressive when it came to capturing the realistic menace of the creature. The acting is the great thing about this film, sure you have a big creature and all, but the acting is what makes or ultimately breaks a film like this(again see many of the SCI-FI Channel movies, for examples of failure). Casting Robert Forster her, was a great movie, to me, he plays the ideal determined cop here, his character recently lost a partner in an operation going bad, and he is remorseful, and as an audience we feel that....and he also makes the character very likeable, which makes the film that much easier, and fun to watch. Robin Riker, plays the sort of Girlfriend/sidekick of the David Madison character, he character is a nice addition, as it is a continuation from the beginning, as she was once the owner of this alligator and doesn't even know it. But I di feel that her character wasn't that important as a grown up, and that the film could've had the same impact without her. She was supposed to b e some sort of reptile expert, yet she does only little to help the progress of the case in the end. Overall, ALLIGATOR, is definitely a keeper. It is surprisingly simple, but effective, and more importantly fun creature feature. I have seen some terrible, terrible creature feature attempts, so it really is good to have a few good ones around, like ALLIGATOR. 5/10 Not the most realistic of gore, but it's fun. Much of it gets repetitive as we see bodies without limbs several times. But how great is it to se an alligator have an entire body it it's mouth chomping down on it? Again.....cheesy but fun. |
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| GORE
METER 5/10 Not the most realistic of gore, but it's fun. Much of it gets repetitive as we see bodies without limbs several times. But how great is it to see an alligator have an entire body it it's mouth chomping down on it? Again.....cheesy but fun. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 4.5/10 The score at times was good, sometimes great, it's just what you'd expect in this type of creature feature. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM This is a great film to sit back and watch when you just want to take in a fun movie. It has it's cheesy moments, but the great performances, and comic book like atmosphere more than make up for it. As I said, I recommend this for when you want a film that doesn't require a lot of thinking, one that you can just have some fun with. |
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