{"id":75405,"date":"2023-10-19T15:26:51","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T20:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=75405"},"modified":"2023-10-19T17:03:55","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T22:03:55","slug":"monster-movie-mayhem-alligator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=75405","title":{"rendered":"Monster Movie Mayhem: Alligator"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By CONNOR KEATING<\/strong>
Tiger Media Network<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so\u2026 the October monster movie marathon continues, this time with the 1980 film \u201cAlligator.\u201d This is a movie that I first became interested in not because of anything it did, but because someone online that I follow kept semi-ironically hyping up its sequel \u201cAlligator II: The Mutation,\u201d and so I became intrigued. Then one day while I was at Vintage Stock I came across the Blu-Ray for \u201cAlligator II\u201d and on a beautiful 4K set, its predecessor: \u201cAlligator.\u201d If there\u2019s one thing I love, it\u2019s overly high-quality releases of weird, obscure movies barely anyone cares about. Nothing like having a cheap, bare-bones DVD copy of \u201cCitizen Kane\u201d to store right next to your nice, Arrow Video Blu-Ray of \u201cThe Giant Claw.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyways, the plot of \u201cAlligator\u201d follows police officer David Madison, who is investigating both a series of strange mutilations and the disappearance of numerous dogs who occasionally turn up, but twice the size. After a shady pet store owner is identified as one of the mutilated victims – found being drained out of the sewer system – Madison goes in for a look with Deputy Kelly. However, Madison has a dark past, as he accidentally got his previous deputy killed. Things take a turn for the worst, as Madison is later found screaming about \u201calligators in the sewers\u201d and is labeled as crazy, but a nosy news reporter manages to get pictures of the beast as it devours him whole. Now, the whole town is in total chaos, as the alligator is loose, using the sewers and various other bodies of water to get around. Madison is kicked off the police force and replaced by a cocky big game hunter, so he and the beautiful herpetologist (scientist who studies reptiles) Marisa Kendall have to track down the beast themselves and take it down. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Alligator Poster<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Before I start getting into the film, I just have to say, wow, the poster for this film is fantastic. I\u2019d even consider it my second favorite movie poster of all time, just after the poster for \u201cLegend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds\u201d of course. The 4K release uses a pretty crappy-looking new photoshopped poster that I\u2019m not a fan of, so when I found the original poster on the other side of the slipcover, I was pretty excited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plot is sort of what you\u2019d expect. It\u2019s basically a combination of your average \u201cJawsploitation\u201d film and an 80s cop action movie. It has a lot of the tropes from both, but putting them all together makes for a pretty fun film. I also like that the film plays with the whole \u201calligators in the sewers\u201d urban legend, rather than just having the film take place in Florida or something. There\u2019s even a funny scene at the beginning showing the baby alligator getting flushed down the toilet, that unknowingly gets brought up later. There are also a number of other nice little bits of setup and payoff that I like having a larger role in the story. They establish that parts of the sewers have highly combustible methane gas, and there\u2019s a seemingly random (but funny) scene at the beginning where a crazy guy with a fake timer bomb strapped to his chest shows up at the police station, but it comes together for the finale, you can guess what happens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, the biggest problem with the plot is the subplot about the experimental dogs. It plays a pretty big role in the story as it\u2019s what mutates the alligator, and the investigation into the lab is what gets Madison kicked off the force, however, there\u2019s no satisfying conclusion\u2026 sort of. The alligator ends up crashing one of the main scientists\u2019 wedding and dishing out their just desserts, but there\u2019s never any point in the film where the main characters confirm their suspicions of the lab\u2019s involvement and figure out exactly what was going on there, but hey, at least that wedding scene is awesome.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The giant alligator crashes a wedding and forces one of the maids to feed him a snack. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

When it comes to the characters, it\u2019s a pretty fun cast. Of course, there\u2019s the leading duo of Madison and Dr. Kendall who are both great. Madison has some personal drama to overcome throughout the film, and the two of them have a nice little romance. The supporting cast is great as well. The cocky big game hunter, Brock, is just so weird and memorable, as he flirts with a news reporter by doing alligator mating calls. Chief Clark is very likable, always trying to look out for Madison until he\u2019s forced to give him the boot. Even the mayor, who\u2019s kind of forgettable, ends up having a very memorable moment at the wedding where he keeps interrupting the father of the bride (who\u2019s the head of the shady laboratory company) while he\u2019s trying to tell some lame story about cooking steak. It all comes together to make for a fun and memorable cast, where each character has their own little quirks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, though, most people are watching this to see a giant alligator eat people. Do not fear, because there\u2019s plenty of that. The kills early on take a cue from \u201cJAWS\u201d and are usually POV, or obscure most of the beast with the dark and claustrophobic sewer tunnels, but once it leaves the sewers, nothing is obscured\u2026 unless you\u2019re watching the TV cut. The action sequences are a beautiful blend of gore and creature effects combined with the over-the-top and explosive action of the 80s. Speaking of the effects, they\u2019re awesome. The film uses a combination of a real alligator on a small set, and an impressive life-size prop that\u2019s fully capable of swallowing the actors whole. The real alligator they use you can clearly tell is a juvenile thanks to its large eye ridges, but fortunately, most of the time they use the life-size alligator prop.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The giant alligator escapes the confines of the sewers to wreak havoc on the city. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The music in the film is also fantastic. Lots of deep, eerie, mysterious pieces are used to make scenes more suspenseful, combined with the stingers of the main theme, and the track that uses\u2026 I don\u2019t know what instrument, but it\u2019s the same one they used for some of the tracks in \u201cStar Trek: The Motion Picture,\u201d and it sounds like some deep synthetic guitar; it all comes together to create a striking and enjoyable soundtrack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlligator\u201d is another unfortunately forgotten film, but if you give it a chance, I\u2019m sure most can enjoy the film. It\u2019s got fun characters, a fun premise, has some awesome practical effects, and it expertly combines a monster movie with an 80s action movie to create a film worthy of that stellar poster. I give this film eight \u201cfunerals for a big toe\u201d out of 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fun fact, before Brian Cranston became a big-name actor, he was jumping around Hollywood looking for work to get more experience, and ended up being a production assistant for \u201cAlligator\u201d where he was tasked with stuffing the giant alligator prop with fake blood and guts for the finale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connor Keating is a junior at Fort Hays State University, studying digital media and journalism. Connor is an old-school movie fan, particularly Japanese monster movies, and is an avid DVD collector.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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