Killer Crocodile 2

"Killer Crocodile 2" runs 82 minutes (including credits). About half of those are dead space - like a female reporter's petty bickering with her colleagues back in "New York". Roughly 10 more minutes are taken up by flashbacks = footage lifted from the original film (including its ending). That leaves about 30 minutes of pure crocodile-chomping-on-people action, and the croc itself looks good; even if it's stodgy at times, it's still vastly preferable to the computerized crocs of such recent bombs as "Crocodile" and "Blood Surf". But the script is so lazy that just when the movie looks about to finally get going, we get a stupid climax and it's all over. Anthony Crenna repeats his role from the first film; don't expect any acting awards coming for him anytime soon. Leading lady Debra Karr has (at least in the first half) a self-assured, take-no-sh*t attitude that I quite liked. (*1/2)

I don´t know if this is supposed to be a horror movie, because it´s really funny. People once again fall into the water without no actual reason and there is no story to talk about. It looks like the director of this movie (who was in charge of the croc effects in the first one), thought to himself "since the mechanical croc actually never was destroyed in the first one, let´s use it again, and make a part 2" Me and my friends almost laughed us to death when we saw it. The effects are really bad and the croc...well, what can I say...CHEESE! If you liked Alligator, do NOT watch this flick, but if you are looking for a laugh, please help yourself. Lets hope nobody is thinking "Killer Crocodile 3"

A horrendously funny sequel bearing no actual horror (and it is categorized as a horror film), actually having more than good nature photography and swamp, river sceneries and cheesy, goofy, nice acting than terrible visual effects.

It is fun for a pass time, especially if you watch it dubbed in Italian, which suits the beautiful power two Debra Karr very much.

Who and how (were) funded these movies is beyond me.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 3.5
• Development: 6.5
• Realism: 3.5
• Entertainment: 6.5
• Acting: 4
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 6
• VFX: 2.5
• Music/score/sound: 5
• Depth: 3
• Logic: 1.5
• Flow: 5.5
• Horror: 2.5
• Ending: 4.

A corrupt land developer is pursued by a tenacious and ambitious investigative journalist (Karr) after another journalist uncovers evidence of radioactive waste being dumped in the local swamps. But when our rogue reporter goes missing in the swamps, her employer calls in the expert – Anthony Crenna, appearing half way through the film as the visiting specialist on all-things swamp, like gi-normous crocodiles. Through a series of painful recollections, Crenna labours in the tortured soul characterisation, and re-acquaints with local game hunter Girolami to go in search of another giant crocodile, and hopefully, find Karr alive and well.

Former special effects man De Rossi follows up the mediocre 1989 offering with this flimsy concept of a sequel. There's even less to this outing than the original – ridiculous dialogue (although it's impossible to tell just how bad it is, considering the English dub), laughable set-ups and a puerile make-up effects leave little room for suspense, thrills or basic plot cohesion. Awkward attempts at humour fail miserably, but then the acting is so stilted and amateurish, it would be unfair to expect a cast of this quality to master the timing required to deliver comedy, when they struggle attempting to convey fear and surprise. The crocodile itself moves through the water like it's being towed by an outboard.

Leading man Crenna (Richard's son) arrives in the second half with immediate impact, while the bubbly and effervescent Karr is enthusiastic, if somewhat at the mercy of the poor script. "Killer Crocodile 2" is a virtual carbon copy of its predecessor and looks like director De Rossi (who provided the special effects for the first film) combined mostly out-takes and left-over footage to cobble together a quick cash-in. If there's any redeemable features at all, the music isn't bad, and, Enio Girolami (aka Thomas Moore) is laughably intense, but there's little more to recommend. I paid $2 for this movie as an ex-rental, and that's about the worth.

"Killer Crocodile 2" isn't about to mess with a formula, as it proceeds to offer lovers of Euro-cheese more of the same things we got with the first "Killer Crocodile". The lovely Debra Karr (in one of only two feature film appearances) is an appreciably feisty leading lady as reporter Liza, sent to a Caribbean swamp to investigate nefarious doings by an evil developer named Baxter. Once again, the swamp is being polluted with illegal disposal of radioactive waste. And once again, an enormous, homicidal reptile shows up to munch on as many unlucky humans as it can. Richard Anthony Crenna, a handsome lad who is not particularly blessed with acting talent, returns as the hero Kevin, although he doesn't show up until the movie is almost half over.

Italian effects master Giannetto De Rossi, who also designed our monster antagonist, proves to be at least somewhat capable in the directors' chair, delivering to us undemanding thrills for a little under an hour and a half. Granted, any parts of the plot devoted to the criminal goings-on, cover-ups, and Liza's un-P.C. bantering with her colleagues back in NYC are never as fun as when the croc makes its appearances and does what it does best. To further illustrate the fact that the screenwriters (including producer Fabrizio De Angelis and the prolific Dardano Sacchetti) don't really want to stray from what they felt made the first movie work, they bring back crusty, Crocodile Dundee wannabe Joe (Ennio Girolami) to be Crenna's cohort for a brief portion of the running time.

The music by the great Riz Ortolani is fun, especially when he's riffing on John Williams' classic "Jaws" theme. The effects are sometimes dodgy, but at least this animatronic croc is still highly preferable to a digital one. De Rossi and company don't skimp when it comes to suggesting the creatures' size. The dialogue and the performances are extremely cheesy, with some genuine laugh out loud moments. (Such as Kevin's reaction to Liza's desire for sex late in the game.)

For a sequel that was quickly banged out (it was actually filmed at the same time as the original), with not much thought put into the script, this does entertain solidly - in a purely tacky way, of course.

Seven out of 10.