Cocodrilo: terror al acecho

This movie is totally atrocious. I just finished watching it on the Sci-Fi channel tonight, and the acting is just...well...irritating. Given that this is a B-Horror movie, however, it wasn't too much of a shock, but the acting seems to be even worse than par. Couple this with a fake looking CG crocodile with red(!) eyes, and all the lousy horror conventions makes this a hilarious film. If you're into bad horror movies, you'll love this, but if you're looking for a legit, sarcasm-free scare, look elsewhere.

While Tobe Hooper's Crocodile (2000) was very much a poor relation his Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), in both a bunch of teens in the middle of nowhere encounter a deadly local threat, the sequel is more akin to the likes of Anaconda (1997), with a mature cast and the added presence of a human threat.

This time instead of partying youths, the protagonists are bank robbers and hostages. During a storm the desperate criminals hijack their flight to Acapulco and it crashes as a result. Exploiting weaknesses in airport security, pre-9/11, the thieves had been able to smuggle aboard weapons with laughable ease.

Stranded in a Mexican swamp, the thieves hold fellow survivors captive as they attempt to make their journey to safety with their loot. Unfortunately they have landed in the feeding ground of a ridiculously large crocodile. As they are eaten one by one, a plucky young heroine attempts to overcome the human and reptile threat to be united with her boyfriend.

A parallel plot in which the boyfriend becomes aware of his girlfriend's danger and sets out to find her fills out the running time and seems copied from I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998). There's nothing original in this movie and even the shocking denouement is a steal from Carrie (1976).

Stage scenes evoke the kind of creature features shot in the 1950s and Martin Kove lends quality support to a cast of unknowns doing a Harrison Ford impersonation with shades of Robert Shaw. Intertextual elements such as these mean that there is never a dull moment for genre fans.

While the settings for the film are the United States and Acapulco, it is quite clear from the closing credits that this film was made far beyond the fringes of Hollywood. Prolific production company Nu Image, who churned out a number of creature features in the early 00s, have made many of their films in South Africa and Bulgaria, but this was shot in India.

How much you enjoy Crocodile 2 will largely depend on your expectations and mood. I loved this when I first saw it and found it very bland the next. There's a modest amount of gore to please post-pub viewers of all ages but there's little that's memorable.

With the limited impact the first "Crocodile" movie had and its limitations in terms of enjoyment and entertainment, then it was somewhat of a gamble to sit down and watch "Crocodile 2: Death Swamp".

Still, I have done so. And I must admit, that while "Crocodile 2: Death Swamp" by no means is a masterpiece, then it definitely turned out to be slightly more enjoyable than the first movie. Why? Well, because they upped their game significantly on the special effects department, and for the most parts throughout the entire movie, the crocodile was realistic and actually turned out quite well in favor of the movie.

As for the storyline in "Crocodile 2: Death Swamp", well... Let's just say it is subpar to the storyline in the first movie. The storyline, plot and script in this sequel was more generic and predictable, to the point where the storyline itself was an abomination.

The characters in the movie were even worse than in the first movie, especially the bad guys. Seriously? They were just laughable and seemed like something taken out of a very bad comic book.

The acting in the movie was adequate, taking into consideration that the actors and actresses had next to nothing to work with in terms of a proper script, storyline and plot.

What sets "Crocodile 2: Death Swamp" aside from the first "Crocodile" movie was the special effects which really lifted the movie up to a higher level and made it all the more enjoyable to sit through. Sure, this is the type of movie where you just dislodge your brain, sit back and enjoy the ride.

The movie is what you'd expect, no disappointment there. But it was very hard to listen to. The audio Quality was horrible. you were always hearing it in kind of an echo.

This movie begins with 4 men robbing a bank and killing several policemen as they make their escape. As part of their plan they then board a flight to Acapulco where they hope to live a life of luxury. Unfortunately, when they are told by the pilot that the flight has to turn back to the United States because of a terrible storm they decide to take over the airplane and continue on the original course. One thing leads to another and soon the airplane crashes in a swamp about 50 miles from their intended destination. One of the crooks dies in the process along with most of the other passengers. However, the few people who survive now have to contend with a giant crocodile who seeks vengeance upon everybody in the group for killing one of its offspring. Now, as far as this movie is concerned I thought that this was a dynamite film up until about the last 15 minutes or so when it was almost ruined by one extremely absurd scene copied right out of "Jaws 2". If not for that--and the excessive use of profanity--I would have rated this film higher. So, for what it's worth, even though it is better than the original I feel compelled to give it just average marks.