Alligator is a film made by people with an appreciation and understanding of what it is and what people will expect.
When a young girl gets a baby alligator as a pet, her parents are none too pleased. In a moment of anger, her father flushes it down the toilet. After consuming a steady diet of discarded (and contaminated) lab animals from Slade Pharmaceuticals, the alligator grows to a length of 30 feet. It also gains an insatiable appetite. Sounds like a great idea for a post-Jaws animal horror movie, doesn’t it? It is and it was. Written by John Sayles (Piranha, Sunshine State) and directed by Lewis Teague, Alligator has its tongue planted firmly in cheek.
Detective David Madison (Robert Forster) is called in when human body parts begin showing up at a water treatment plant. Madison has gained a reputation for being bad luck after his partner was killed in another city. When he asks for help investigating the sewer, only one patrolman, Kelly (Perry Lang), willingly volunteers. Unfortunately, Madison and Kelly encounter the giant alligator. Madison is knocked unconscious and Kelly is killed.
Madison wakes up in the hospital. No one believes his story about an alligator in the sewer being responsible for Kelly’s death. To appease him, his boss, Chief Clark (Michael Gazzo), takes him to see Marisa Edwards (Robin Riker.) Edwards is an expert on reptiles and she quickly dismisses the idea of an alligator in the sewers. After a missing reporter’s camera is found with pictures of the alligator on it, Edwards and the cops finally believe him. Chief Clark and Madison coordinate a sweep of the sewers to push the alligator out into the open. The alligator has other plans, however, and doesn’t play by their rules.
Alligator is a film made by people with an appreciation and understanding of what it is and what people will expect. The dialogue is full of wit and the action and, while not exactly unpredictable, doesn’t disappoint. There’s plenty of blood for the gorehounds but there’s a lot of humor as well.
Robert Forster’s depiction of the perpetually exasperated Madison is note-perfect. Robin Riker and Forster have good chemistry. Dean Jagger turns in what amounts to a convincing extended cameo as the slimy head of Slade Pharmaceuticals.
Made for $2 million, the movie never looks cheap. The alligator effects, done with miniatures as well as practical means, do the job quite well. It’s a perfect example of how practical effects — when done right — trump today’s cheap CGI every time.
If you’re a fan of “giant animals attack” movies, don’t miss Alligator. It’s an under appreciated classic.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
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