Alligator

Yet another Jaws ripoff, but Robert Forster elevates the movie to adequacy all by himself. Features the OG Red Wedding.

Jaws had everyone afraid of going to the beach, Alligator has me afraid of catty remarks to a receding hairline. The attacks on Forster’s hair is as relentless as the gator rampages.

Compared to just how poor some "giant animal" movies can be, this is passable enough for some cheap and cheesy monster movie fun. Most of the entertainment comes from the alligator itself. When its not having a little fun wrecking mayhem at a wedding or on a big-game-hunter and some Chicago "natives", it's busy being an adorable little tramp stomping around on miniature sets. Fans of killer alligator movies can do far worse elsewhere.

the campiest camp that ever was camp

Campy and stupid flick about a giant killer alligator in the Chicago sewer system. Everything about this is pretty bad except the creature effects, but it still manages to be pretty entertaining with its unintentional humor. It's kinda funny how Robert Forster's receding hairline ends up becoming a running joke in the movie. Henry Silva's cameo as a big game hunter is also worth a few yuks.

The standard Big Creature Eats People fare, livened up by the terrible wardrobe choices of the main character and a whole bunch of people being eaten during a wedding. Take that, marriage!

Pity the poor orphaned gator unceremoniously flushed down the toilet when it was no longer baby-cute. But every alligator will have his day. Sayles's witty, scary script is a model for fright-night specials; and the film is rare among horror films in that it develops a central romance with depth, intelligence, and humor.

This is the kind of rare movie that proves that predictable formula doesn't necessarily make something bad. I could see everything coming but goddamn this is an extremely well made B-movie. It delivers everything you want: an attack in the first scene & then quickly gets to the origin. Writer Sayles actually puts some thought into explaining how this alligator exists. Jerks get their comeuppance no matter how contrived & most impressive: the alligator efx look surprisingly good.

Forster gives one of the great lead performances of junk cinema and a killer sewer gator's never looked grater. I mean, gator. I mean, greater? Henry Silva appears as himself.

Seriously underrated and a far superior writing effort from John Sayles after the similarly formatted Piranha. It's far from being a great film - or a commendable one at that - but the combination of tongue-in-cheek humour and careful build-up makes for an oddly suspenseful and frothy ride. This film also brought back fond memories of playing with my alligator bath toy; aaaaaaand I might've said too much.

Enjoyable B-movie with the usual "big animal kills folk and takes far too long getting caught even after everyone knows it exists" plot. Highlights include a bizarre sort of subplot involving the scientist originally owning the beast and a lead character that seems to sweat dirt.

Fun movie scripted by John Sayles. The usual strong performance from Robert Forster helps a lot

Amazingly boring for a movie with a giant alligator. Meh.

Ey where's all the deep dish ova hear.

This is a pretty stupid movie, but that's not always a big fault. This movie knows it's pretty dumb, and screenwriter John Sayles leans into it. It's not exactly a comedy, but it's funny in a knowing way. It's really cheap and not superbly put together ... I had the feeling that every third scene was missing ... but it kind of turns that into a virtue too.

Finally saw this one. Considered a cult classic. It's a pretty good creature feature, with some better than expected special effects.

The alligator itself looks really cool, but everything else just feels like a basic 80's movie sandwich with all the ingredients. A middle-aged cop who gets it on with a twenty-something scientist, a bunch of really dumb side characters, government corruption, scientific experiments, and so on. It's honestly a bit boring, because every beat is something that even in 1980 had been done before. But again, the alligator looks cool.

The score is most of what betrays this as a B-movie, because it really is just budget Yamaha Jaws; but the script is pretty good, with decent characterisation and a genuine attempt to give a legitimate excuse for there to, not only be an alligator hiding in the sewer, but a giant one. The editing is super tight, wasting no time in moving from beat to beat, and the practical effects are well done - I wasn't sure sometimes whether I was looking at an animatronic or a real gator.

Why is there a human love story here?

Alligator: O Jacaré Gigante estreava há 40 anos nos EUA. Não é tão satírico quanto nos querem fazer crer, mas tem seus momentos, plus Robert Forster. BlurayRip RARBG.

Plenty of fun, gory and campy. I'm a sucker for a good monster flick.

Neither funny nor horrific enough to really hold me. Not as amusing a Jaws parody as Piranha, and I'd take Tobe Hooper's Eaten Alive for killer 'gator movies over this.

This movie was a shit ton of fun. All the characters are likable, the effects were pretty cool and the wedding rampage was awesome.

It's a decent enough monster movie, but not very engaging or original for the most part.

This was much more entertaining than 95% of all Marvel films. Ps. more Henry Silva, please!

I might be overrating it because the police chief reminds me of a politician I know, which upped my enjoyment a lot.

John Sayles is an oft-overrated film-doing-person, especially by leftists apparently impressed that someone to the Left of Jimmy Carter was let near a film-set. But I like this better than 'Matewan'. And not in an ironic way; I actually think it is better. Probably the highlight of Lewis Teague's career too, but no-one is going to kick about that description.

The pool scene is incredibly tense.

Over the top monster film made bearable by excellent Robert Forster and a memorable cameo from Henry Silva.

Bad acting, especially that police man with the awful voice, stupid story, funny wedding scene. At least they used a real alligator at times and the baby alligator are ridiculously cute

This movie definitely falls under the guilty pleasure category. The story is silly and the special effects come across as very low budget. However the movie is enjoyable and Robert Forster is good in the lead role. If you are in the mood for a fun B movie then you should watch Alligator.

"Lewis Teague is only too willing to hand over the entire project to Sayles's hunger for allegorical subplots." - Eric Henderson

Mediocre special effects are only a distraction in this witty eco-monster take.

So-so gator-in-a-sewer movie. Nothing too terribly original about it, but the gator looks surprisingly good, and there are more than a few creepy shots in a sewer.

Forster supplies the low-key heroics, and Silva (as a Great White Hunter stalking urban sewers!) the sardonic comic relief in a generally fun -- if occasionally self-conscious -- fright film.

Witty monster movie send-up. Lots of goofy dialogue and situations (like a vendor selling alligator memorabilia after one of the gator attacks) are well played off some real scares, and there's a terrific cast with Silva an especial hoot as a Great White Hunter hired to dispose of the pesky critter.

it's got a giant alligator, who doesn't love giant alligators?

pretty good for what it is

Sure why not.

One of those movies that they used to show on "Monster Week" on UHF back in the 80's. Thoroughly forgettable.

Better than most "oversized animal" films, but really not all that good. This is despite a script by the great screenwriter John Sayles.

Fairly amusing farce.