ALLIGATOR/ALLIGATOR II
A large scaled problem
RELEASED 29 JANUARY 1980/1991 | 15 | 4K & Blu-ray
Directors Lewis Teague, Jon Hess
Cast Robert Forster, Robin Riker,
Joseph Bologna, Dee Wallace
Of all the films swimming along in Jaws’ wake, Alligator is the best – a genuinely brilliant film in its own right. That’s what happens when you have John Sayles (later an acclaimed independent director, but at this point a gun-for-hire screenwriter) on board.
Riffing on an urban myth, the set-up sees a gator living in the LA sewer system growing to 30 feet in length after munching on experimental dogs dumped by a pharma company. Realised using baby gators in model sets and a suit operated pantomime-horse style, the beast is good enough, with director Lewis Teague having the sense to never show too much.
Often tense, with some neat visuals – like a killing illuminated by camera flashes – it’s ruthless too, with even a small boy getting munched. But it’s Sayles’s wry wit which really elevates the film. There are countless idiosyncratic touches: the way people keep mentioning the receding hairline of Robert Forster’s cop hero; the souvenir sellers flogging soft toys; the sewer wall graffiti reading “Harry Lime Lives!”.
Despite being made 11 years later, sequel Alligator II: The Mutation skews closer to Jaws, centring on a property developer who – much like Amity Island’s Mayor – refuses to nix a lakeside carnival. There’s a Quint knock-off too: a plaid-clad hunter who calls everyone “Bubba”, played by B-movie stalwart Richard Lynch.
Joseph Bologna’s detective is a pretty mild brand of maverick – his trademark rebellion illegal parking. And we could have done without the wrestling scenes (inserted due to the original’s popularity with Hispanic cinemagoers), or the recycled shots from the original. But the film’s biggest flaw is that the camera lingers too long on its unconvincingly immobile monster.
Extras Bonuses are carried over from Shout Factory’s US releases of 2022. The first film comes on both 4K and Blu-ray. You also get a longer TV cut, which snips swears and gore but adds new scenes – like a two-minute sequence where a mother thinks that her toddler’s been snatched. You can view these additional scenes separately too – though, oddly, they’re presented out of sequence, in blurry 4:3 ratio.
There are five interviews (totalling 76 minutes). Teague is good value, but the highlight is an appearance by one Bryan Cranston, a lowly effects assistant on the film, who recounts tales of cooking up faux alligator innards and chatting with Forster by way of tribute to the late actor. We also hear from Sayles, female lead Robin Riker and a make-up effects chap. The Mutation (on Blu-ray only) also comes with five interviews (director, second AD, editor, effects coordinator and actor Kane Hodder, totalling 44 minutes) – more than this lacklustre affair really deserves. Plus: trailers; TV spots. Ian Berriman
According to the editor, a bulge in Richard Lynch’s trousers had to be “fixed” via CG before Alligator II made its TV debut.
There are countless idiosyncratic touches