An enormous man-eating alligator stalks the sewers of Chicago.
HORROR
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Alligator (1980)Directed by Lewis Teague
Written by John Sayles Starring Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Michael V. Gazzo, Dean Jagger, Jack Carter, Perry Lang, Bart Braverman, Henry Silva |
Who doesn't love a good creature feature? Especially when you've got Robert Forster and Michael V. Gazzo as Chicago cops down to their last fuck to give. Alligator is one of the better "nature vs. man" monster movies out there, even if it isn't perfect. I thought it slowed down a bit in the middle, but the characters are interesting and there are some legitimately scary moments with the gator. As we frequently see on the SyFy channel, it could always be way, way worse.
The concept is beautifully simple. A kid's asshole father flushes her pet baby gator down the toilet. It grows up in the sewer, becoming humungous by eating discarded dog carcasses that have been fed growth hormones as part of some sick experiment. So, now it starts eating people, prompting a murder investigation that turns into a media circus once the cops realize it's not a serial killer, but a big ass gator. At the film's heart is Officer Madison (Forster), who got his partner killed once upon a time and is looking to redeem himself. Alligator is a fun monster movie that surprisingly still holds up, particularly in its use of practical effects for the monster gator. If you're looking for substance, you could probably do better. If you're looking for a simple creature feature that basically amounts to cop and scientist vs. big scary alligator, you could definitely do worse. |