Eaten Alive

Yes, this is the first movie made by Tobe Hooper after The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and no it is not half as scary or well-made. Hooper was not a big shot after TCM because it wasn't a Hollywood franchise or a legendary movie yet. So he's hired with TCM writer Kim Henkel to basically make a ripoff of their own movie, since both creators got robbed selling Chainsaw. More bad luck comes to Hooper as the producers want a different style of film, closer to Carrie or Psycho. Hooper leaves the film during filming and a good 1/4th of the film is filmed by his DP (who can't direct a lick). Also factor in the shabby budget.

So "Eaten Alive" could've been something close to TCM but turns out a mess that has very little of Hooper's vision in it. Its still very interesting and creepy. There's a queasy atmosphere thanks to the surreal set, noisy sound design and freaky acting. Whats left of Henkel's script is abstract and very in touch with TCM. The film sinks thanks to some boring office and bar scenes plus lame slasher chase sequences thrown in to make the story more standard. The entire film is edited poorly. But Hooper's scenes are very good even in this choppy presentation. Unfortunately TCM2 had more of Eaten Alive in it than TCM.

I love EATEN ALIVE.

The film is bizarre: bizarre colors, bizarre sets, bizarre characters, bizarre music, bizarre dialogue, bizarre editing, bizarre camera angles, etc. This film simply reeks of insanity, which is what Hooper is great at. The atmosphere is really creepy and the film is one of a kind. Though it's not as scary as TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, it is disturbing and has some difficult to watch death scenes, even if you catch yourself laughing at the wonkiness of it all. Today, many films are lauded for having so-called "twisted" or "eccentric" artistic expressions (see David Lynch's films) but Hooper created these kind of films before they were respectable.

BTW, Neville Brand gives one of the weirdest performances ever put on film.

Well, if you saw The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and were impressed with director Tobe Hooper, your next move might be to view his second film Eaten Alive. I searched all over for a print and finally was lucky enough to find one and see this somewhat forgotten picture. One reason for its seemingly firm place in the ranks of oblivion is its numerous title changes. Notwithstanding all this I found the film and watched it. The film is interesting, bizarre, unbelievable, and disturbing. The setting is just a trifle too unimaginative to be taken for real as is the central character of Judd (for the most part deftly played by Neville Brand). The plot too seems to be making its viewers accept too much for granted without really giving any knowledge of why Judd is the way he is, etc... Despite these shortcomings, the film has some of the truly most horrific scenes filmed. The scene in which Judd tries in vain to goad a young girl from under his hotel out is sheer terror. Other scenes in which he dispatches some of the hotel guests are equally effective. The film has a lot more going for it than its oblivious nature would suggest. It has fine performances, an eerier setting and score, and the taught, tuned terror Tobe Hooper realized in his first great film.

Toby Hooper's follow up to his classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) was this atmospherically bizarre horror oddity.

Deep in the swamps, a crazed hotel owner is keeping a monster crocodile in his yard and occasionally feeding offensive people to it!

As with Texas Chainsaw Hooper gives this film lots of spooky atmosphere, but he really puts it into over-drive with Eaten Alive. The story is a bit disturbing and far more gruesome than Texas Chainsaw. The characters that parade through this film range from back-woods yokels to warped weirdos! Hooper gives the whole movie a kind of garish and bleak style that adds all the more to its off-beat weirdness.

The cast is good, Neville Brand makes for an especially convincing madman. Horror fans will see lots of familiar faces in the cast - Marilyn Burns (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), William Finley (Sisters), Robert Englund (Elm Street movies), Janus Blythe (The Hills Have Eyes), and young Kyle Richards (Halloween).

While Eaten Alive doesn't reach the nightmarish heights of some of Hoopers other films, it is a good B horror picture. For those looking for a twisted horror film it will more than suffice!

*** out of ****

Tobe Hooper's much maligned follow up to 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' isn't half as bad as it's detractors claim. While it certainly isn't as good as TCM, if viewed in the right frame of mind it's probably his second best flick. 'Death Trap' reminds me of Dario Argento's movies. Not in the subject matter, or directorial style, but in the sense that what you're seeing is a filmed nightmare, devoid of logic, but full of memorable over the top images. The sets are cheap and nasty, the acting varies from quite good to plain silly, the "plot" can basically be summed up as: people check into a seedy motel and get fed to a pet crocodile by its nutty owner, but you know what? It's still a hell of an entertaining trashy horror movie.

Neville Brand ('The Ninth Configuration') gives a gonzo, almost vintage Timothy Carey-like performance as psycho scythe wielding Judd, owner of the one place in town you really don't want to check in to. Horror legend Robert Englund appears as sodomy lovin' white trash local Buck. Also on board are scream queen Marilyn Burns ('TCM', 'Helter Skelter'), cult star Roberta Collins ('Death Race 2000'), the original Morticia (Carolyn Jones), the 'Phantom Of The Paradise' (William Finley), and veterans Mel Ferrer ('The Hands Of Orlac') and Stuart Whitman ('Crazy Mama'). All this and one of the most unconvincing looking killer crocodiles ever seen on screen!

Highly recommended.