Killer Crocodile

Well, this wasn't nearly as bad as I initially feared it would be, and that's pretty much the best compliment you can give to a cheap and anonymous Italian-produced creature feature rip-off. "Killer Crocodile" is actually a rather funny movie if you analyze it a little bit… Even though it was made more than 14 years and numerous amounts of other B-movie rip-offs later, Fabrizio De Angelis still pretends his film is the first imitation of Jaws ever accomplished! The premise is very similar, and especially the POV-shots and use of music are shamelessly stolen from Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking monster-movie, like no other movie tried to do that before. But hey, nonetheless the movie is very entertaining, rather fast-paced and at least the vast majority of the small budget went to special effects department. The giant croc, albeit not very menacing, is a fairly impressive mechanical creation that is proudly shown several times throughout the entire movie, so at least you don't have to fear that all the action and death-sequences take place off-screen. The plot is standard monster-movie guff, with a group of over-ambitious and spineless environmentalists cruising down the Santa Domingo River and discovering that these swamps are used as a dumping place for industrial radioactive waste barrels. Months, maybe even years of dumping waste in the water is unquestionably also the reason why the crocodile mutated into a gigantically angry and insatiable killing machine that devours everyone who sets foot in his swamp territory. The activists get assistance from an ultimately stereotypical macho-hunter (Italian exploitation-regular Thomas Moore), while the mean guys who're polluting the swamps desperately attempt to get rid of them. De Angelis cheerfully serves one cliché after the other and the screenplay is entirely tension-free, yet you forgive him because it's such cheesy fun! The acting (and mainly the dubbing) is horrid and most of the dialogs are completely misplaced, but thank God for good old-fashioned gratuitous gore. Call me biased, but this type of horror-cinema is certainly a lot more enjoyable than the nowadays monster-movies with hideous CGI effects, like "Blood Surf" and Tobe Hooper's disastrous "Crocodile".

80s Italian horror knock-offs can usually be relied upon to provide a decent amount of gore and a fair smattering of gratuitous nudity in an effort to draw in the crowds, but Fabrizio De Angelis's Killer Crocodile, yet another belated Jaws rip-off, fails on both counts. Perhaps the effects budget didn't stretch far enough for both Gianetto Di Rossi's giant fibreglass croc AND bucket-loads of juicy splatter, but surely some aspiring starlets desperate for some screen-time could have been talked into getting their tops off for next to nothing...

Without much in the way of exploitative goodness on display, the gore limited to one mutilated corpse, a chewed off arm, and clouds of blood in the water whenever someone gets chomped, and the nudity non-existent, there's very little worthy of praise in this highly unoriginal and totally inept film. Bee Gee-alike Richard Anthony Crenna (son of Rambo's Col. Trautman) heads a miserable cast of virtual unknowns whose acting skill are so bad that they can't even fall in the water convincingly. Even Riz Ortalani, an accomplished composer usually capable of a decent tune, fails to impress, his score being a pale imitation of John Williams' theme from Jaws.

I rate Killer Crocodile 3.5 out of 10, rounded up to 4 for the croc's impressive demise: swallowing an outboard motor that liquefies its throat and causes its head to explode.

This Italian "Jaws" knock-off really only has one redeeming feature, so I might as well open with it: the croc is real! Well, not real real, but I mean that it isn't a cheap CGI effect like in "Blood Surf" or God forbid "Crocodile". The puppet they use can't really move well, but at least it's actually freakin' there. It even looks pretty scary from time to time, they really did an excellent job with such a limited budget. It's just too bad they couldn't use the model in a better movie, because all other aspects of "Killer Crocodile" are well below average. The characters are annoying, the dialogues are uninspired and the story developments are all lifted directly from "Jaws". They even bring in a blatant Quint rip-off just for those who don't catch on quickly. Hell, even the music is just John Williams' theme with one or two different notes to avoid a lawsuit. In the end there are no scares, no real memorable scenes and a pretty boring finale but like I said, the puppet's damn cool. It might be worth a watch just because of that, and also for the rare "so bad it's good" moment.

This movie has the charm of the old and cheap monster movies. Well, not that old (since it was filmed in 1989), but it definitely has a 80's feeling to it.

Let's start with the good points of this movie : "Killer crocodile" (and its sequel, filmed at the same time) is cheap, but most part of the budget went into the crocodile itself. No CGI, but a full (plastic) giant crocodile, which is a good starting point. There is a certain amount of gruesome deaths (with limbs cut off and everything), and, since there is an attack about every 10 minutes, you don't get bored watching the movie. Also, the music was made by the famous Riz Ortolani, who was already familiar with horror movies set in beautiful locations of south American forests, as he is also the composer of the theme for the infamous "Cannibal Holocaust".

But the gruesome deaths don't really make up for many other problems in the movie. The acting is definitely the worst part of it : it's just ridiculous (except for the late Ennio Girolami, playing the character of the mysterious Joe, a boor and lonely hunter out to kill the beast). The dialogues try to underline plot elements that don't really lead anywhere, when not being completely over-the-top.

And the crocodile might be giant, but still : its big yellow eyes and deep growls make him seem actually cute at times.

In conclusion? Don't watch it if you're looking for a masterpiece. But it definitely is pretty entertaining... Although not for the reasons the director wanted it to be.

This film is the definition of comic badness. The croc changes sizes seemingly at random. In one scene it even looks about 20 feet tall. People fall in to the water for no particular reason and it's not even clear what country this is supposed to take place in. Fortunately the film is fun and fast paced so you can ignore some of the faults. The gore is plentiful and the animatronic crocodile by Gianetto De Rossi is pretty amazing for a movie with such a low budget (well at least we know where the money went). Thomas Moore's (Ennio Girolami) performance as Joe the grizzled croc hunter adds alot to the film also. Some imaginitive camerawork and a decent jaws ripoff score by Ortolani doesn't hurt things either.

Overall a decent fun flick, just don't expect JAWS.

Shot back-to-back with Killer Crocodile II