4 Monstrous Creature Features To Pair With ‘Alligator’ [Double That Feature]
Shout Factory’s off to a strong start this year, huh? Releasing not only Cursed and Happy Death Day later this quarter, but also the highly coveted (especially by me) 80s creature feature, Alligator. I bet y’all are just pondering what it’s about. Gee, I wonder.
I didn’t watch Alligator until late in my childhood, having gotten my “crocodilian menace” fix from such masterworks as Lake Placid, Crocodile, Crocodile 2: Death Swamp, Blood Surf, and Dino Croc. Despite what the titles may imply, Crocodile was the worst of those. Yes, even worse than Dino Croc. When it comes to absurd monster-rampage-flicks, Tobe Hooper just can’t match Roger Corman.
Ah, another Corman reference. I should keep a counter.
Where did I see Alligator? Good question, because it wasn’t on VHS or DVD, much to Kid Giallo’s dismay. In fact, I’ve only seen a DVD of it once at a Suncoast (I miss you, you’re in my dreams) way back when. Never seen a VHS copy, but I know it’s out there. No, the first time I caught this flick was on the Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy). So, for the longest time, the television cut of the film was all I knew. Tragic, I know, but I was able to right that wrong eventually.
My interest was peaked when the first guy got munched by alligator jaws, the love cemented when witnessing the glorious practical FXs of a man being swallowed whole. On top of all that, it’s well written, too! Honestly, I’d need to write a whole article about all its nuances. But trust me when I say it takes itself seriously while simultaneously knowing exactly what it is. That goes for plot, characters, alligators, there’s a lot to go over, so here’s a Horror Timelines Video to cover some of that ground! Just a heads up, it contains spoilers.
Shit, I forgot to tell you what the movie is all about. One sec!
Alligator (Directed by Lewis Teague; Starring Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Michael V. Gazzo; 1980)
“A pet baby alligator is flushed down a Chicago toilet and survives by eating discarded laboratory rats injected with growth hormones. The small reptile grows to a gigantic size, escapes the city sewers, and goes on a rampage.” – IMDB.
By the way, how big of a problem are sewer gators up north? Always been curious. We just have regular going-wherever-they-feel-like gators down here. Anyway, let’s tear into the meat of all this: four other features to match with this scaley beast of a flick!
“Oh boy,” you say, “four more crocodile/alligator movies. Can’t wait to watch Lake Placid vs. Anaconda.”
Negative, my sarcastic friend. Too easy. I’m going to try to keep it spicy, just for you. Time to spiral into this death roll!
1. Alligator II: The Mutation (Directed by Jon Hess; Starring Joseph Bologna, Dee Wallace, Richard Lynch; 1991)
“A giant alligator makes a city lake his new feeding ground and must be stopped before he breaks out into the surroundings.” – via IMDB.
Okay. Look. Listen. About what I said earlier about keeping this spicy… I promise the spice will be added, but we need to boil the broth first, you know? You feel me? You hungry? I’m hungry. Feeling something spicy.
What is there to say about Alligator II? Well, unsurprisingly, I have a fair bit to say about it. For starters, I watched this one way before the first, the cover catching my perusing eye in the horror aisle many years ago. That’s my entire recollection of that experience because the movie didn’t stick in my mind. Some vague memories exist, but all I really remember is hearing that it was just a retread of the original. Which it is… sort of.
After this last rewatch, I can confirm that there are definitely some familiar plot beats. There’s an alligator and people want to stop said alligator. Okay, there’s a little bit more than that, but no more so than any other monster movie like this. Truth be told, I feel the differences between the two are enough to elevate it from “the-first-one-but-in-the-90s-this-time” status. Especially since the climax rips off Humanoids From The Deep, an entirely different film about a monster and people wanting to stop said monster.
Also—and this is just a theory, I couldn’t find anything saying whether or not this is the case—but I believe this flick originally had greater ties to the original. The finished product is kind of its own thing, not mentioning any events from the first entry at all. But I think that was due to rewrites made because they couldn’t get the previous two leads back. The protagonist and his wife (I’d call her a protagonist, too, but she’s barely in the film) are a natural progression of the duo from the first film. Same professions, same characterizations, just not as well written. It all seems like this was supposed to be the next part of their story. Another gator pops up and it’s up to our heroes to stop it yet again! Or maybe they didn’t try too hard and simply copy/pasted the first film. That’s possible.
As for my opinion… I liked it. It has some cool practical gator FXs (some new, some stock footage), Richard Lynch and Dee Wallace are there (always a plus), buff guys in spandex wrestle in a super shady businessman club (as is tradition), all that good stuff. Oh! And Kane Hodder shows up! Apparently, he was in the first flick too, as “Alligator”. I don’t know what that means.
Shout Factory just released this one, as well! You can pick it up here. Unfortunately, if you want to watch it digitally, you’re on your own. I can’t find it on any streaming sites. A big thank you to Michelle! She informed me that it’s on streaming sites now, so if you want to watch it digitally, you can do so here!
2. Slugs (Directed by Juan Piquer Simón; Starring Michael Garfield, Kim Terry, Philip MacHale; 1988)
“People are dying mysteriously and gruesomely, and nobody has a clue what the cause is. Only health worker Mike Brady has a possible solution, but his theory of killer slugs is laughed at by the authorities. Only when the body count begins to rise and a slug expert from England begins snooping around does it begin to look like Mike had the right idea after all.” – via IMDB.
This movie surprised the hell out of me. I made a Twitter post about it, that’s how astounded I was. I don’t always use the app, but when I do, there’s a good chance it’s because of killer mollusks! The idea of man-eating slugs never gelled much with me, so I never gave this flick much thought.
I’m not a prideful man, I can admit when I’m wrong. And I was wrong about the murder mollusks. I should have given them a chance a lot sooner, that’s on me. I hope they accept my apology.
This movie turned out to be really fun, mostly due to the effects provided by Basilio Cotijo and Carlos De Marchis, along with the rest of a great team. Given the project list between the two (which includes Pieces, The Rift, and Monster Dog), it’s not surprising the practical FXs look as good as they do. Plenty of scenes of people eaten alive by slugs, their little fanged mouths chewing away at helpless victims. Do… do slugs actually have fangs?
I just looked it up. They do not. Good to know.
Speaking of Pieces, apparently this film was directed by the same guy, Juan Piquer Simon. Now that I think about it, this movie is as mean-spirited as a trashy Spanish slasher flick, so it makes sense. Or as mean-spirited as a Corman flick, if you prefer.
Watch it digitally here or get it physically here.
3. Gnaw: Food of the Gods 2 (Directed by Damian Lee; Starring Paul Coufos, Lisa Schrage, Réal Andrews; 1989)
“A growth hormone experiment gets out of hand, when the resulting giant man-eating rats escape, wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting campus. Much blood-letting follows.” – via IMDB.
Who’s even thought of this movie? I don’t mean “remembers”, but actually thought of its very existence? Who sat there and wondered “was there ever a sequel to Food of the Gods?” Who’s even thought about Food of the Gods for that matter? Answer: somebody in the 80s did. Not only that, but they figured that it was high time it had a sequel for some reason.
I mean, Willard got one, so there must be a market for killer rat movies. So be it. All cynicism aside, Gnaw isn’t too shabby. As far as an obvious cash grab for… something… goes.
You have giant killer rats on a budget, and for the most part they’re not terrible. Not the best I’ve seen (think Graveyard Shift still holds that crown), but they get the job done.
Also, there are giant people scenes, the main ones being about a kid who got some of that “god food” growth hormone in him, literally becoming a big kid prone to excessive aggression. It’s an interesting subplot that doesn’t really go anywhere, but it is what it is.
Then there’s the part when a dude turns giant while getting laid, and the only thing he’s fucking is HILARIOUS. It’s incredibly absurd and dumb and I can’t help but love it. Maybe more competent acting and direction could have pulled off this scene. Then again, probably not.
Fun Fact: this flick made Kid Giallo bawl like a baby back in the day. Actually kept me from revisiting this film for years, so if there is one thing I can say about it, it’s that it had an impact on me. Revisiting it, I can say that the scene in question is still sad, but I didn’t sob inconsolably this time. Just had a few tears down my cheek.
Final note, the theme is way more rad than it has any right to be.
I wish I could tell you where to find it, but it isn’t on any streaming service, and the DVD’s price is steep. You’re on your own for this one.
4. The Nest (Directed by Terence H. Winkless; Starring Robert Lansing, Lisa Langlois, Franc Luz; 1987)
“Horrifying shocker as a biological experiment goes haywire when meat-eating mutant roaches invade an island community, terrorizing a peaceful New England fishing village and hideously butchering its citizens.” – via IMDB.
Ah, there’s the Corman film! For a moment there, I was worried there wasn’t going to be one. Though in this instance, it’s Julie Corman doing the producing. Changing it up a bit; we take risks here.
Let’s check the list real quick. We’ve had killer alligators (a classic), killer slugs (so niche, I love it), and killer rats (that always gets ‘em). So, that just leaves killer bugs!
Cockroaches, specifically. I was thinking of putting Mimic here, but decided to save it for a different upcoming sewer monster list. So, The Nest it is.
How many killer roach movies are out there? There’s this, Mimic, They Nest, They Crawl, that one part in Creepshow… just finding a base to judge this flick on. I’d put it up there with Mimic and Creepshow, which I’m now declaring the peak of “roach cinema”. In that regard, this film is pretty good. It reminds me of Slugs as far as the story structure goes, except a bit more effective because roaches are near-universally considered “icky”.
As strong as the effects were in Slugs, this flick goes just a step further. Not only do we get to see roaches eat people alive, but we also get the added bonus of hybrid man-roaches that also eat people alive, looking gnarly as fuck! Super rad! Kudos to James M. Navarra, who sadly hasn’t really done anything else. I find that odd since the effects were so well done. Maybe he thought he peaked then quit. I mean, those bug monsters did look pretty sick.
On a side note, remember that scene in Re-Animator with the cat? When it was all flailing about and jumping at people? The makers of this movie sure did.
Watch it digitally here or get it physically here.
Nature is dangerous enough on its own. Why do we keep trying to super-lethalize it? Think we’d learn at some point. But then what would we make “experimental killer-whatever” movies about? Kinda makes it all worth it when you think about it like that!
Until next time…
Ciao, friends!
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