L'Incroyable Alligator

What a classic. I will admit that the main reason I watch so many horror movies is mainly because I can make fun of them. I bought Alligator from a video store that was going out of business. I vaguely remembered the scene where the alligator crashes the birthday party from when I was a little kid. Anyway, I remembered enough to pick it up, so I was expecting another movie that I could sit there and trash, but once I saw John Sayles's name in the writing credits, I assumed that I would be in for something more. Instead of getting a movie that I could laugh at, I got one that laughs at itself for being a horror movie (about 16 years before that was cool). The script is super-sharp, with witty lines and the direction is tight. We also get a great, charismatic Robert Forster playing the role of the burn-out cop and Henry Silva makes a HILARIOUS cameo as a hunter. I don't know if his performance was intentionally bad or if he was just trying to be that bad, but either way, it worked. I loved his character and the funny noises that he makes. I'm sure it had to be intentional.

John Sayles has done some great horror scripts. Just check out Piranah and The Howling (the first one). He scores another knockout with Alligator and it put Lake Placid to shame. What that movie seemed to try so hard at (making a "parody" of sorts) Alligator pulls off with ease. The special-effects (of course they're dated by now) are actually really well-done for the time and, in many ways, a helluva lot more convincing than most of the CGI crap that we're force-fed today.

If you can find this movie, I highly reccommend it. No, it's not scary, but it is very entertaining and a good time all the way through.

It's the age-old story of growth hormones fed to lab animals that are dumped in the sewer system. Said animals make tempting snacks for Ramone. Who is Ramone, you ask? Why, he's the pet alligator that got flushed down the toilet. Now, after years of feasting on his favorite treats, Ramone is about to make his big, sidewalk-breaking debut.

Robert Forster is a cop who learns of the gator's existence and must convince his superiors to take action. In the meantime, maw-fuls of victims are devoured, including comedian Jack Carter as the idiot mayor, and Henry Silva as an over-confident hunter!

Director Lewis Teague brings the extra-large reptile to life with bone-crunching results. ALLIGATOR is a fantastic "nature's revenge" / monster movie!...

Either this film is based on an urban legend, or it inspired one. I'm not sure which. Alligator is a skillfully made horror film based on the premise of flushing a small pet down the toilet and it one day growing to an enormous size. The title of the film pretty much says it all. Though the film is creepy, and filled with gore, this is one of those horror films that knows its really kidding when all is said and done.

The film kicks off with an alligator attack at a wildlife refuge park somewhere in the south. A daredevil in a pit with some alligators just about has his leg torn off whilst a frightened crowd looks on. "Sometimes the gators win," the announcer points out over the loudspeaker after the victim is hauled out to safety. A little girl in the audience is so taken by a baby alligator that she buys one and takes it back home with her. One day her angry father, for no reason that I could discern, flushes the tiny gator down the toilet. Flash ahead twelve years later and....

Body parts start turning up in the sewer system. A cop (Forster) and his partner take a look around in the sewer to see if there's anything wrong down there. Big mistake! The partner becomes gator food, and we finally get a good look at what the pet gator has become. It seems that for years, a local chemical company has been dumping the corpses of genetically enhanced animal test subjects down in this sewer system. The alligator from the beginning has been eating these animals for years and has grown to the size of a large sedan. Not including the tail! The police send a swat team into the sewer to find the beast, but all it does is drive him up into the city where he terrorizes anyone in his path. It is up to Robert Forster and a pretty biologist to find and destroy the gator before he eats up the city.

The film is a decent mix of horror and humor. Some scenes, like a boy falling into a swimming pool and being eaten are absolutely terrifying. Especially since this kind of thing does sometimes happen in Florida and places in the deep south. Other scenes, like when the alligator breaks up a wedding reception, border on hilarious. Not only does this gator have a sharp bite, but he also can whip the heck out of you with his tail! He whips one unlucky guest right through the wedding cake! Then, he destroys and entire limo by just swatting it with his tail! You have to see it to believe it. The film has an abrupt, yet exciting conclusion. The acting is quite believable, and the cast is full of recognizable faces. Great support from Michael Gazzo, and Henry Silva! John Sayles of all people wrote this film, and you can get a feel for his intelligence and sense of humor at every turn. Lewis Teague, who was quite successful in the 1980s, gives great direction. Definitely worth a look. 6 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

Alligator is one of those films that people will either love or hate. I doubt it was supposed to be very 'A-grade' when it was released back in 1980. Now, well over thirty years old, I was hesitant to see how well it's stood up to the test of time.

I was pleased to say the answer is: pretty well.

If you can excuse the seventies haircuts (in an eighties movie!) then you'll find quite a tight little monster-munching movie. Lake Placid may have better effects, but Alligator still has its own special charm - think 'Jaws,' but with an alligator instead of a shark (oh, and in Chicago, rather than the sea, obviously).

Basically, what little plot there is revolves around a little girl having her per alligator flushed down the toilet when it was still young. Once in the sewers, over a period of twelve years, it mutates, getting much, much bigger and basically comes back for revenge. Yes, revenge. It seems to have a natural instinct as to whose fault it was, but, hey, just suspend your disbelief and enjoy it.

Alligator is played out on that fine line between 'tongue in cheek' and 'straight.' It has a foot in both camps and somehow it manages to pull both off.

If you're a fan of general animatronics monsters eating man, woman and child (yes, child - you wait and see!) then give Alligator a go. It's just a shame that with a solid movie like this, the alligator himself didn't move on to better things. He was certainly the star and I was hoping to find him in a nice indie flick or even a romantic comedy. Well... maybe.

I wasn't expecting much of a movie when I sat down to watch this one. I was very pleasantly surprised. With a script by John Sayles, committed performances by leads Robert Forster and Robin Riker, and a happy company of interesting performers, including Michael Gazzo, Dean Jagger, Henry Silva, Sue Lyon, and Mike Mazurki, it wasn't just a cheap JAWS rip-off about trying to stop an alligator flushed down the toilet eighteen years earlier, grown huge on medical wastes and dogs, but something of a screwball comedy, with dialogue at once witty and natural.

It also has an emotional journey. When we first meet police detective Forster, he's depressed because he had lost a partner in a shootout, and his hairline is receding. By the end, he has accomplished his goal, and if his hairline is going, Miss Riker content to be with him.

John Sayles seems to have used his fee from writing this to fund his directorial debut, THE RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS SEVEN. That's a win-win, so far as I am concerned.