La isla del gran caimán

Filmed in beautiful Sri Lanka, The Great Alligator otherwise known as Alligators otherwise known as Big Alligator River has featured in several worst movies ever made lists. Honestly I think the people who included it need to watch more films, as this wouldn't likely make my bottom 500 despite still being bad.

It tells the story of a group of tourists who anger the locals and before you know it there is one angry giant alligator after them and the native people aren't very friendly either.

I can't come up with a reason folks would consider this one of the worst ever, sure it's bad but not to that degree.

It looks dated sure and the plot and pacing are really quite dire but all in all I've seen this very same thing done considerably worse.

I would certainly not recommend this to anyone, but it's not THAT bad.

The Good:

Some great nature shots

SFX aren't that bad

The Bad:

Very slow burner

Plot is a bit of a mess and gets worse the further in you go

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I don't approve of swine swindling

Adam (As in Adam & Eve) was an idiot

In THE GREAT ALIGATOR, Joshua (Mel Ferrer) is the owner of a tropical island resort, which he runs with help from his assistant, Alice (Barbara Bach). Among the fun activities offered is the tossing of squealing piglets into the water to entice the local crocodiles.

In order to create this beautiful island oasis, the surrounding ecosystem was destroyed, upsetting the natives to no end. They fear that the gods have been angered. Soon enough, the reptilian horror of the title arises to avenge the disrespected deities.

CHOMP!

While several deaths occur, the lengthy interludes between croc attacks are dull enough to cause cranial blistering. The fact that disco dancing plays an integral part in this movie does bring a few chuckles, especially the floating disco dance floor! A boogie buffet! Now, that's a brilliant idea!

CHOMP! CHOMP! CHOMP!

Don't miss the mindless, JAWS-like non-finale! Now, that's comedy!...

Some kids bathtub toy goes on a killing spree. I mean, some ancient jungle god (in the shape of a Giant Alligator!) gets offended by a resort being built in the heart of the jungle. Then a supermodel sleeps with a native and REALLY cheeses him off! Actually, I suspect it might have been the incredibly irritating "bocka-ch-wocka" disco music that plays relentlessly through the entire film that drove the reptile to kill in the first place. The Great Alligator goes on a boring munchfest, eating more innocent natives than guilty white people and requiring that soaking wet and barely dressed shapely women be tied to rafts and offered as a sacrifice. Yeah, okay. Poor Richard Johnson plays some weirded out prophet who lives in a cave and looks like the guy from Monty Python. I kept waiting for him to run up to the camera and croak out: "It's!" at any given moment. The alligator is silly, bobbing back and forth and looking like a big rubber toy. This was obviously "Jaws" inspired, and sadly, imitation is NOT always the sincerest form of flattery. Stick with Piranha. This movie makes "Eaten Alive" look better than I originally gave it credit for.

For many people this is one of the worst by Sergio Martino, but I really love it. First I gotta say that I love Sergio Martino and for me he is maybe the best exploitation Italian director, better than Di Leo and Lenzi too. Big Caimano River is a real b-movie, and I say that as a compliment: a real b-movie as today nobody do anymore. It's a sort of "Jaws" rip-off, with a big alligator which scares a small village in the forest. The movie is sometime stupid, but is so funny. You can easily see that the alligator is fake, but this doesn't disturb me. Instead, I think it's almost touching: that time is over, the time of the house made fx-effects. The underwater ending sequence is fantastic. Also the truck is fake but, you know, that's b-movie. And that's what I like.

This film starts with a photographer being flown by helicopter to a hotel/resort in the middle of the jungle, because he has been hired to take some publicity photos for the owner. Once there he is introduced to everyone of any interest (to the viewer anyway) and is given a guided tour of the place (once again more for the viewers benefit than his, a quick and lazy way to set the story up). After this opening ten or so minutes its on with the story, this photographer falls for the owners assistant and tries to chat her up when she is alone, outside. At the same time two locals sail to a nearby island and make love. On their way back they are attacked and killed by a giant alligator, of course the photographer and his soon to be lover hear their screams. The next morning one of the two killed the night before is reported missing, the photographer puts two and two together and along with a broken boat realizes something is not quite right. The hotel owner however is not convinced, and as he has his first guests coming to stay he doesnt want to start a panic. Its now down to the photographer and his girlfriend to prove the great alligator exists. I like all these italian rip off movies from the late seventies and early eighties and this one isnt too bad at all. Sergio Martino is a solid director who seems to make good, handsome, well made movies that are better than their low budgets would suggest, mountain of the cannibal god, A man called blade and 2019 after the fall of new york are a few examples. There is not much gore and the alligator is rarely seen, but the locations are nice as is the camera work. I liked the ending as well. Some may find the film a bit dull and slow but I liked it and recommend it.