Alligator (1980)

Alligator is directed by Lewis Teague and written by John Sayles, who also went onto direct a string of very good films in the 80s and 90s (The Return of the Secaucus 7, City of Hope, Lone Star, Limbo, Men With Guns).

Termigator III: Rise of the Munchines

It's tempting, given Sayles's involvement to try to see a bit more quality in this film than it really has.  It's a big, dumb film about an alligator terrorising Chicago.  But though Sayles may have writer it, it bears the hallmarks of Teague's mentor, Roger Corman.  It's a rather silly B movie with no real notable qualities.

I did want to like the film more than I did, and wanted to see some strands of quality that would raise it above the run of the mill Corman fare.  But if we're honest, if the same film was presented to us without the revered name attached, we shrug, mutter something about "Just a Troma film without the boobs" and go back top bemoaning the lack of quality films.

Perhaps Sayles introduced the very slight political angle of the unscrupulous research facility dumping hormone infused illegal experiment 'wastage' (dead animals) into the sewers which prompts Ramon (the name given to the cute baby gator by its owner, before it is flushed) to colossal size; but if so fleeting and undeveloped it is hardly worth remarking on.  Mad scientists creating monsters is, after all, a very old film trope.

Perhaps we can discern his hand in the locations - sewage treatment plants, dirty, dilapidated cop shops and mile upon mile of sewer - but equally there is no reason to think this is nothing more than the reality of budget schlock film making.

Probably the only likely real Saylesian touch is the the graffiti in the final seconds, referring to another, more acclaimed film that also featured a famous sewer sequence.  Though even then, could that not be Teague having a laugh?  B movie directors are permitted to watch great films, after all, just like B movie writers are allowed to go on to make great films.

Detective Harrison confronts an only slightly less convincing alligator than the one that just ate his buddy.

So, what is to like?  First, after the recent run I've had (Bunny: the Killer Thing, Gun Woman, Dagon) this isn't a film obsessed with revealing or torturing female bodies.  Perhaps that is the Saylesian touch right there - just a slight muting of some of the more tawdry aspects of the schlock monster genre.  Instead of nubile women stripping off only to be devoured by Ramon, we have some more time for exploring the sewers and watching people be devoured by the insatiable reptile.

The first is the best point of the film - the sewers are presented as genuinely labyrinthine and dark, saturated and unpleasant.  Simply watching our hero (well played by Rob Foster) slosh about in this echoey muck is suspenseful.  The bleak expanse of the sewage treatment pools give the film a grimy realism that distinguishes this from most other monster rampage films - this one starts in the shit, in the refuse and the excrement, and it stays resolutely immersed up to its oxters in filth.

I love engagement parties, the food is always good.  So ... fresh.

The eating people bit isn't terribly impressive though.  Ramon is about as convincing as the shark from Jaws and inspires neither awe nor dread.  The inevitable comic aspects of a B horror are overplayed and suspense, chills or fear dwindle to non-existent once the monster shambles into sight.

Star Rating: *