Dinocroc vs. Supergator

Well, first of let me start by stating that this movie was actually a notch above the rubbish that comes from the heads at SyFy. Sure, this movie was cheesy and pretty out there, but still managed better than so many others from the same company.

You get to see the two gargantuan reptiles right away, so that was fairly cool, and at most the CGI was adequate to look at, except for some repeated uses of some scenes. What is up with that? As for the dialogue in the movie, well that was halting. And there was so much over-pronunciation going on with some of the actors and actresses, it became unbearable to watch and much worse listening to in the long run.

The story, well nothing grand or innovating here. Pretty much by the "Hey Let's Make a Giant Monster"-movie book. It is quite honestly put, brainless action in the style of monsters going rampage and unlikely heroes coming together and besting the monsters, of course. And the stereotypical bad guy dies by the hands of his own creation. So, basically straight from the mold of these movies.

And why was David Carradine in a movie of this caliber? That was just beyond me, but hey, I am not one to question that, or am I? Well, anyway, this movie is better than most other SyFy movies, but still it is nothing to get your hopes up for. It is well below average as for other movies. Some giant monster movies make it work, and others fall through. "Dinocroc vs. Supergator" did the latter.

Might be worth your time if you like campy monster movies, or if you are a huge Carradine fan, otherwise, not really worth the hour and half wasted of your lifespan.

Well, you know exactly what you're getting with that title, so it's no surprise that DINOCROC VS. SUPERGATOR is a real stinker of a film. You know the film has to be bad when even cult director Jim Wynorski is hiding underneath a pseudonym. This one was handled by the SyFy Channel as a clear spin on the surprisingly popular Asylum movies, but it's even worse than those, if that's even possible.

The plot line is the usual stuff with government meddling in nature leading to the creation of not one but two super critters. Yes, they fight - eventually and in the most routine fashion - but until that stage we're mired in a mess of rubbishy actors and excruciating dialogue. David Carradine headlines the cast here but appears only in a minor role; for the most part it's blonde bimbo time, with nubile women running around in their bikinis and getting munched on bloodlessly. There's a wooden and ridiculously masculine hero called simply The Cajun, plenty of cheesy CGI effects, and an almost entire lack of blood and gore on display. Even B-movie fans will struggle with this one.

Disappointing action/horror creature feature unfortunately demonstrates how far Director Wynorski has fallen since his 80s hits 'Lost Empire' and 'Chopping Mall'. Despite producer Roger Corman's involvement, this pair of toothless tyrants can't drag themselves up from c-grade depths, their CGI appearance looking anything but terrifying.

The original 'Dinocroc' was very mediocre, saved from oblivion by its veteran cast; unfortunately there's no such reprieve here as David Carradine saunters by a pool given little to do as the title antagonists are accidentally released from their scientific captivity to wreak havoc upon the local farming and recreational community.

The jokes are tired and cliched, the characters pale imitations, with only some perky performances from the assertive deputy Holt (although the lanky lass looks less like a sheriff's deputy and more like a catwalk model), and the equally glamorous scientist (played by Danish siren Sheppard) who alerts our heroes to the impending doom. I also personally enjoyed the brief appearance of the two bikini clad ladies who try in vain to escape the Dino-croc. Whilst nothing novel, that scene was at least somewhat suspenseful and humorous although once again marred by the inept CGI effects.

It's a haphazard production with continuity errors where the scenery doesn't match (e.g. The 'Cajun' is seen shooting at the super gator from the boat onto a nearby dirt road, although he's clearly surrounded by forest), and dreadfully disjointed CGI that deprives the picture of any tension (e.g. The mutilated livestock being inspected by the Sheriff looks like poorly integrated clip art). Overall it's cringey and disappointing even by modern telemovie standards, though perhaps not unexpectedly given the quality of its source material.

Having watched both "Dinocroc" and "Supergator" prior to this particular picture, I would just like to mention that there isn't much continuity between this film and either of its two predecessors. For starters, the original Dinocroc and Supergator were created in laboratories fusing dinosaur DNA with that of the respective creature. However, this movie takes a different approach and instead has scientists inserting a special growth hormone into both an alligator and a crocodile--who then subsequently escape and become man-eating monsters. In essence then, it's the same basic plot but with a slightly different formula used to get things started. Likewise, as far as the overall quality of this movie is concerned, I will just say that this movie shares many of the same faults as the other two as well. The acting is substandard, the special effects weren't very good and the suspense was non-existent. In short, this movie has very little novelty to offer viewers other than the fact that instead of one monster there are two. Other than that there is nothing really new. That said, unless a person really enjoys films of this type I would advise viewers to give this one a pass. Below average.

There can't be anyone left in the civilised world, or even Belgium, who doesn't know what to expect from a SyFy original FooCritter vs BarBeast quota filler by now.

In case you want to bake your own, here's the recipe:

A title vomited out by the Random Creature Name Generator, run twice.

One has-been Name who neglected their 401K back when they could actually pick and choose their projects.

Half a dozen desperate wannabes, harvested from the weeping rejects of other people's auditions.

4000lbs of assorted bikinis, short-shorts and military surplus, plus sweater meat and six packs to fill them. Quality unimportant, just back the truck up, tip them all out, and we'll film whatever works.

2 buckets of plot and lines swept from the editing room of actual features.

A double-scoop of "nature's revenge" technobabble, with a generous sprinkling of pseudo-science so utterly and boldly bogus that it must surely qualify as deliberate nerd baiting.

60 seconds of ropey CGI, re-shown from every possible angle.

Shake vigorously and squeeze down a warm cable for 90 minutes.

Come on, you know exactly what you're getting. A dash of cleavage, a splash of CGI gore, plastic props that ejaculate the same muzzle flash every frame for 20 seconds - no need to reload if you're not even using real fake guns - a corpse-a-minute, and a climax that could charitably be described as genre compliant.

To be fair, this is a particularly moist and well baked example of the recipe. The walking snacks do a generally decent job of flashing their funbags and emoting their precious lines before queuing up to become lizard chow, the girl-next-door lead poppet is all eyes and pout, the male leads aren't obvious douches, and a few scenes feature something shockingly close to actual acting.

The CGI in particular is surprisingly well rendered, efficiently used (and re-used), and occasionally very decently integrated into the live shots, sometimes even matching variable light and shade - surely a SyFy first. The live action is also competently shot, edited and scored: this is clearly someone's day job.

All of which must be kept in perspective. Strictly relative to other SyFy features, Dinocroc vs. Supergator is about an 8/10, which applying the SyFy Fudge Factor puts it at a solid 4 on the real scale. Not bad at all, especially if you bring a few beers and low expectations.