Alligator (1980)

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Alligator is one of those films that people will either love or hate. I doubt it was supposed to be very 'A-grade' when it was released back in 1980. Now, well over thirty years old, I was hesitant to see how well it's stood up to the test of time.I was pleased to say the answer is: pretty well.If you can excuse the seventies haircuts (in an eighties movie!) then you'll find quite a tight little monster-munching movie. Lake Placid may have better effects, but Alligator still has its own special charm - think 'Jaws,' but with an alligator instead of a shark (oh, and in Chicago, rather than the sea, obviously).Basically, what little plot there is revolves around a little girl having her per alligator flushed down the toilet when it was still young. Once in the sewers, over a period of twelve years, it mutates, getting much, much bigger and basically comes back for revenge. Yes, revenge. It seems to have a natural instinct as to whose fault it was, but, hey, just suspend your disbelief and enjoy it.Alligator is played out on that fine line between 'tongue in cheek' and 'straight.' It has a foot in both camps and somehow it manages to pull both off.If you're a fan of general animatronics monsters eating man, woman and child (yes, child - you wait and see!) then give Alligator a go. It's just a shame that with a solid movie like this, the alligator himself didn't move on to better things. He was certainly the star and I was hoping to find him in a nice indie flick or even a romantic comedy. Well... maybe.

RELEASED IN 1980 and directed by Lewis Teague, "Alligator" chronicles events in Chicago after a baby alligator is flushed down the toilet and mutates to great size from eating chemically contaminated dog carcasses in the sewers. A policeman (Robert Forster) and a beautiful reptile expert (Robin Riker) team-up to track down the beast when it escapes the sewers and preys on citizens."Alligator" is kind of boring for the first half hour or so, but the last hour perks up and generally keeps your attention. Unlike "Jaws" (1975), which is completely serious and scary, most adults won't take "Alligator" too seriously or find it remotely scary. In fact, I busted out laughing numerous times when the creature would attack people. Speaking of which, you'll sometimes hear Jaws-imitation suspense music as the creature approaches its prey. Some viewers understandably compare "Alligator" to another "Jaws" rip-off flick, "Piranha" (1978), but that movie's all-around more entertaining.What makes "Alligator" mandatory is the awe-inspiring Robin Riker, who doesn't appear until half an hour into the story. From thereon she's featured prominently. Robin was 28 during shooting but possesses such a mature and classy air that she seems at least 35. While I'm on the subject, watch out for the blonde reporter in a red jacket and jeans at about the halfway point (43 minutes). Like Robin, she has an exquisite buttocks sculptured by God Himself. There are also some highlights that you won't likely see in pictures nowadays. For instance, a kid gets chewed up in a suburban pool. And a "great white hunter" (Henry Silva) amusingly corrals three black dudes in the urban jungle to assist him in his hunt. Of course this wouldn't be "politically correct" today.THE MOVIE RUNS 87 minutes and was shot in Los Angeles and the Los Angeles River. WRITER: John Sayles.GRADE: B-

A baby pet alligator is flushed down a toilet in the opening scene. Into the sewer system it goes and grows to huge proportions. A local lab is illegally dumping experimental dog carcasses with growth hormones down there that the gator is feeding on. Homeless people and other city workers begin to disappear and police officer David (Forster) has to team up with Alligator specialist Marisa (Riker) to try and stop the huge gator. In the mean time the gator is swallowing kids in swimming pools, destroying a wedding the Mayor is having and chomping a big game hunter (Henry Silva) who was called in to stop it, in bloody fashion. Director Lewis Teague keeps the action crisp and this never gets boring. John Sayles script is filled with black humor and stretches way more fun out of this 'B' picture than it has a right to. Forster is properly cast as the grizzled cop and seems to enjoy his role. This isn't the type of movie to pull genuine scares out of it. Instead it's a fun, and at times bloody monster on the loose film.

Well directed(by Lewis Teague) and written film has a young girl's baby alligator flushed down a toilet by her callous father, years later, that same alligator(after having survived and thrived thanks to the carcasses of genetically altered animals that had been thrown into those sewers) emerges as a thirty-foot monster that menaces the people of Chicago. Only policeman David Madison(Robert Forster, nice performance) can stop the rampage, with the help of a young reptile expert.Scary film effectively creates fear and tension in the sewer scenes, and the F/X on land hold up surprisingly well. Clever script has many jokes and satire to offset the tension, and result is a memorable film.