'Gator Bait

This is the Deep South y'all. No, this isn't "Deliverance", this before "The Dukes of Hazzard", if you're in gator country, you're "'Gator Bait" if you are not prepared. Desiree (Claudia Jennings,1949- 79)is a barefoot poacher who knows the swamps since birth. She and her family have trapped alligators for years. Then a sheriff deputy and friend catches her in the act. They would chase her, and she outsmarted them. She sets a trap. They get it. The deputy gets freaked out. He shoots the snakes, but he accidentally shoots the friend. His father happen to be the sheriff. He lies to his father about the situation, and send the father of the deceased to look for her. The search party looks for Desiree. They found out the place where she lives, and attacked her brother and sister. After they killed the sister, it's a all out war on the search party. But secrets are exposed when the truth is out. And Desiree shows no mercy! Revenge is sweet. When you mess with Desiree, you're 'GATOR BAIT! This is a exploitation that is nice to see. Only the mature should watch it. If you like "Deliverance", you'll this movie as well. 3 out of 5 stars

OK, here's the deal, I got sick to death of reading lame reviews of exploitation and Eurotrash films from people who simply don't get it. These films are NOT meant to be compared to the sanitized crap Hollywood sells us.

'Gator Bait is a cult classic for a number of reasons, first of all, Claudia Jenning is hot, secondly, the Sebastians make quality low-budget dark sleaze. Most importantly, though there is little sex and violence in the film (as compared to many exploitation films) this film does not hold back. It rolls along at a good pace and is full of unlikable characters with secrets that are slowly revealed as the film plays out.

The plot is fairly simple, Desiree (Claudia Jennings) is out to avenge the death of her sister... who was killed at the hands of an angry family who were led to believe that she killed a member of their family while all along it was the son of the Sheriff who had committed the crime. It's pretty much a cat and mouse story, with gorgeous and barefoot Claudia Jennings (the cat) hunting down and systematically killing the men (the mice) responsible. In many ways (as was the case with many exploitation films) the film has a strangely feminist theme to it. It turns out that Desiree is the most clever, likable, and capable character in the film. That is the frequently missed point of many exploitation films... the women (the victims of some pretty dumb and unpleasant men) are the most sympathetic and frequently brightest and strongest characters. The whole film has a deep and dark sexual undertone to it, and like most exploitation, it is not for the squeamish or the Hollywood-fed public. This is a film for people who are willing to look into darker corners.

It is well acted, beautifully-shot, with a really cool Cajun theme song ("Jole Blon" rewritten), and plenty of action and outright weirdness.

A young deputy by the name of "Billy" (Clyde Ventura) and a friend "Ben Bracken" (Ben Sebastian) are in the swamps lying in wait for a young vixen named "Desiree Thibodeau" (Claudia Jennings) to come along and examine her illegal alligator traps. They figure that if they can catch her red-handed she will agree to have sex with them rather than go to jail. But what they don't figure upon is her ability to evade arrest even though they have a more powerful boat than she does. Not only that but she is also quite resourceful when cornered as she throws some venomous snakes into their boat to aid in her escape. Unfortunately, while Deputy Billy is busy shooting the snakes he accidentally shoots and kills Ben. Not wanting to risk retaliation by the Bracken clan he tells his father, "Sheriff Joe Bob Thomas" (Bill Thurman) that Desiree killed Ben. This results in the sheriff, the deputy and three members from the Bracken clan to venture deep into the swamp to get Desiree. In the process they kill Desiree's sister, "Julie" (Janit Baldwin) which turns Desiree from being the hunted into the hunter. Anyway, so much for the plot. What I liked most about the film was the presence of Claudia Jennings (1970 Playmate of the Year) and the bayou scenery. What I didn't care for were some of the scenes involving the Bracken clan which were too stereotypical and over-the-top. It's one thing to depict a family as uncouth or undisciplined. But the scene where one of the young men tries to rape his sister was simply not necessary. At any rate, while the film managed to keep my attention for the most part, I found it to be a bit too simple and crude for my tastes.

My friend and I rented this film one evening, along with its sequel (which was released 12 years later) in order to have a "bad movie night" of sorts. Well, we were not disappointed. "Gator Bait" is a very bad film, although most of the time it is literally quite harmless. Although Claudia Jennings was included in the cast as the swamp girl presumably because she had been a nude model, there is very little skin to speak of in this film. At times, of course, the filmmakers cross the lines of bad taste and include scenes of strong implied violence that can make you squirm. The only reason it seems out of place here, however, is because most of the film does not follow this violent tone. It is basically the story of a bunch of rednecks who attempt to destroy the swamp girl and her family, who are freeloading in the swamps. It's that basic white-trash dilemma: get offa my property. Luckily, swamp girl (a.k.a. Desiree) and her brother Big T. rise to the challenge. The film was laughable in most parts, and usually quite boring, but it did have one thing going for it: where some "bad" movies are just too horrible to even make fun of, this one lended itself perfectly to the "bad but fun" movie mentality, and my friend and I even named his truck Big T. after one of the characters. The soundtrack consists of warbling banjo music and a hilarious song about Desiree, and just adds to the fun. A good example of a movie that deserves commentary by you and your friends.

You know in reality this movie is *NOT* as patently offensive or disturbing as the naysayers may have you believe. It is tasteless, lunk-headed, vacuous and exploitational as they come, but THAT IS THE POINT OF THE FILM. To expect a movie called 'GATOR BAIT in a decorated box featuring a swamp slut bedecked in tattered flimsy Daisy Dukes to be anything other is like, stupid.

So if you give 'GATOR BAIT a try and are dumb enough to be offended by it don't come crying to us -- What did you expect, SCHINDLER'S LIST or THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WIFE? This is "Hickspoitation", a sadly missed sub-genre of 1970s/1980s exploitation cinema aimed squarely at the Drive-In sect where backwoods cracker trash and their inbred, uncivilized behavior is the main draw. The ultimate Hicksploitation film is still DELIVERANCE which escapes the label because it actually is in good taste, plausible, populated by credible character actors and made by professionals. 'GATOR BAIT is from the other polar end of the spectrum of Hicksploitation with more in common with films like BACKWOODS (aka GEEK) or the King of Hicksploitation Horror, Troma Films' MOTHER'S DAY. They are celebrations of poor taste and should only be viewed by audiences who are either immune to being offended, or are looking to be offended by something. Anything.

I did not find 'GATOR BAIT to be offensive but I see how people could fall into the trap of being repulsed by it. There is a theme of misogynistic brutality running from beginning to end, hintings of incest, a couple of near rapes that end in over the top violence, and cracker trash humor that pokes fun at backwoods redneck Cajun misfits with a kind of gleeful abandon. My favorite moment of sleaze in the film is when three cracker brothers eye their buxom sister lustfully as she hangs up the washin' wearing nothing but an old slip, and one of them drawls out "Jolene, I likes the way you're slidin' around inside a' that." One of the other brothers snickers distastefully as he chomps on an apple & watches as his brother tackles Jolene in the slippery barnyard mud and tries to have his way with her. Hooo-wee!!

That is until Pa comes over to give the boy a whuppin' with his bull whip, snarling "How many times do I have to tell you to leave your sister alone?" Pa is played by veteran cult actor Sam Gillman, still wearing the same dungarees and jeans jacket he wore in 1972's BLOOD SABBATH and would later also wear in EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE. He was a marvelous character actor who only required a role for him to inhabit with what he had, and he easily dominates the film as a resourceful, educated cracker who is evil for sure (he kills the county sheriff after a scuffle over some male dominance hierarchy issue) but still has a code of right & wrong that he insists everybody else live by as well. He is the best actor in the cast and brings a kind of authority to the film that is most welcomed.

The other standout character in the film is easily Claudia Jennings' "Desiree", the bread winner of a family of Cajun crackers who make their living by poaching, live outside of the law, yet are "good" hicks compared to the dirt bag rednecks who come after them due to the lying cowardice of the sheriff's son, who frames Desiree for murder after accidentally shooting one of his foul minded buddies dead. After some setup distastefulness and minimal background story the film devolves into an extended hunt of Desiree through the Louisiana Bayous where she kills off the posse of crackers one by one -- or inspires them to murder each other. The acting is atrocious, the violence and sexual misogyny appropriately stomach churning, but that is exactly what the film called for and you can't blame it for delivering.

One curious thing about this community of swamp rats: The guys all look like the toothless Mountain Man from DELIVERANCE but the women all look like Penthouse magazine models, slinking around in tattered, tight cutoff jeans or one-piece dresses designed to show off their pert breasts, to die for figures and doe-like "Say Yes" eyes. Why the rednecks would want to kill someone who looks like a Centerfold of the Year is perhaps best left unquestioned lest the answer point in the direction of the hog pen. In spite of it's outward stupidity and complete lack of good taste (including the musical score, which is like bad Ry Cooder on the cheap) the film is actually pretty well-made, with competent if uninspired cinematography that always seems to find room in the camera angles for a stunning view of Ms. Jennings' derrière as she stretches and strains against what's left of those tattered cutoff jeans. That the film inspired a sequel ('GATOR BAIT 2: CAJUN JUSTICE) is not surprising, and with any hope it will be at least as objectionable, thick-skulled and shamefully entertaining as this. One can only hope ...

6/10: To be watched in the company of loud friends with plenty of beer.