Review of Alligator (1980) by Mister C — 24 Sep 2007

After the huge success of what "Jaws" did to turned people away from the water and turn beaches red and Universal's coffers green,Hollywood unleashed a wave of films dealing with the concept of man-vs.-beast knockoffs: 1976's Grizzly(or the slogan..just when you thought if was safe to go in the woods),which dealt with a rampaging grizzly bear;1977's The Swarm,which dealt with killer bees terrorizing a small town(which was produced by Irwin Allen of "The Poseidon Adventure" and "Towering Inferno" fame),and 1978's "Piranha" not to mention a slew of these movies that exploded in the mid to late 1970's that also included "Rattlers","Tentacles","Man's Deadliest Friend"(killer dogs-wolves!!!).

It wasn't until 1980,when this B-grade classic came out called "Alligator" which was a cult gem written by a young John Sayles and produced by the king of cult B cimema--Roger Corman. Cleverly suspenseful,outrageously funny,and explicitly bloody,"Alligator" stars Robert Forster as a gruff Chicago cop jokingly bitching about his hair plugs,pitching woo to a sexy herpetologist(Robin Riker) while on the hunt for a ravenous killer reptile that is as big as a Cadillac,weighing over 2,000 lbs. stalking the sewers of the Windy City looking for its next victim. And it has to be stopped before its too late. Great Cult Classic from the early 1980's. Can you believe this was drive-in material?