Hello, so many of these genre films were watched but did not get the full commentary, either because my interest waned ot they were so bad I did not want to think about them anymore. Some were just not all about the croc or gator like Eaten Alive, it is more about the PTSD of a Vietnam soldier in East Texas losing his shit. So instead I will add them in this post to finish out the deep dive into the Alligator / Crocodile subgenre.
The Hatching (2016) What to say about this odd bird? Played with a comic undertones it is the story of what happened to a couple crocodile eggs stolen from a zoo years before. Tim, Nick and Baghi are preteen when they break into the zoo and steel Nile Crocodile eggs. When the alarm goes off there is running and confusion. Nick unfortunately runs into the crocodile enclosure and is eaten. Traumatized Tim leaves the village of Somerset and does not come back until his father dies leaving him the stone quarry business. The crocodiles born from those eggs are secretly raised and the story picks up as they start attacking the locals. It is a really quirky film that does not want to settle in tone. Not scary with what looks like a big rubber crocodile and not funny enough when they play for a laugh. The short scenes interwoven to hide the big turn about who is caring for the crocodile and their dangerous nature (the humans not the crocodile) fall flat in that it flattens the pacing.
Freshwater (2016) This came out the same year as The Hatching and takes a much more ridiculous approach to the Crocodile genre. Where a group of twenty somethings at a lake house are terrorized by a large albino crocodile. It plays poorly with such stereotypical roles for the victims and really stupid decision making. Sure I think it is going for Camp but it doesn't really ever hit it. Instead you end up with a bad guy aiding the crocodile, Like the Hatching the human are more dangerous than the animal. This one really did not do it for me the mix of serial killer and crocodile was just too much.
Eaten Alive (1976) Judd (Neville Brand) is just a redneck veteran with a pet crocodile trying to make a living with his run down East Texas motel. When things get a bit tense his PTSD kicks in and he begins making violent decisions that he can't come back from. With a great cast including Mel Ferrer, Robert Englund, Marilyn Burns and Carolyn Jones this is a really great film directed by Tobe Hooper just two years after "A Texas Chainsaw Massacre". This one is certainly worth a watch. It probably should have its own review but where the crocodile is secondary in the film and really it is Brand's Tour de Force perfomance that carries the film it will have to wait for another time.
The Alligator People (1959) - A story set in the bayous of Louisiana where a recently married pilot who after a crash has his injuries cured by a scientist by using alligator DNA. Sort of a mystery where he leaves his wife when something goes horribly wrong with his treatment. She seeks him out finding him at his LA mansion with his mother and the scientist. Throw in an over the top performance by Lon Chaney Jr. as a drunken swamp resident with a hate for alligators and you have a crazy little film. Definitely in the 50's schlock monster film genre this is a fun little change from a lot of the serious being hunted by... films I have been watching.
The Hatching (2016) What to say about this odd bird? Played with a comic undertones it is the story of what happened to a couple crocodile eggs stolen from a zoo years before. Tim, Nick and Baghi are preteen when they break into the zoo and steel Nile Crocodile eggs. When the alarm goes off there is running and confusion. Nick unfortunately runs into the crocodile enclosure and is eaten. Traumatized Tim leaves the village of Somerset and does not come back until his father dies leaving him the stone quarry business. The crocodiles born from those eggs are secretly raised and the story picks up as they start attacking the locals. It is a really quirky film that does not want to settle in tone. Not scary with what looks like a big rubber crocodile and not funny enough when they play for a laugh. The short scenes interwoven to hide the big turn about who is caring for the crocodile and their dangerous nature (the humans not the crocodile) fall flat in that it flattens the pacing.
Freshwater (2016) This came out the same year as The Hatching and takes a much more ridiculous approach to the Crocodile genre. Where a group of twenty somethings at a lake house are terrorized by a large albino crocodile. It plays poorly with such stereotypical roles for the victims and really stupid decision making. Sure I think it is going for Camp but it doesn't really ever hit it. Instead you end up with a bad guy aiding the crocodile, Like the Hatching the human are more dangerous than the animal. This one really did not do it for me the mix of serial killer and crocodile was just too much.
Eaten Alive (1976) Judd (Neville Brand) is just a redneck veteran with a pet crocodile trying to make a living with his run down East Texas motel. When things get a bit tense his PTSD kicks in and he begins making violent decisions that he can't come back from. With a great cast including Mel Ferrer, Robert Englund, Marilyn Burns and Carolyn Jones this is a really great film directed by Tobe Hooper just two years after "A Texas Chainsaw Massacre". This one is certainly worth a watch. It probably should have its own review but where the crocodile is secondary in the film and really it is Brand's Tour de Force perfomance that carries the film it will have to wait for another time.
The Alligator People (1959) - A story set in the bayous of Louisiana where a recently married pilot who after a crash has his injuries cured by a scientist by using alligator DNA. Sort of a mystery where he leaves his wife when something goes horribly wrong with his treatment. She seeks him out finding him at his LA mansion with his mother and the scientist. Throw in an over the top performance by Lon Chaney Jr. as a drunken swamp resident with a hate for alligators and you have a crazy little film. Definitely in the 50's schlock monster film genre this is a fun little change from a lot of the serious being hunted by... films I have been watching.
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