Monster of the Day #3039

Updated on May 29, 2020 By Ken Begg 11 Comments

Here’s a good one for the weekend. Alligator was written by John Sayles (hence the sly sense of humor and great characterization) and starred fan favorite Robert Forster. This is certainly one of the better Jaws knock-offs, probably rivaled only by Joe Dante’s Piranha. Available for viewing on YouTube (although their new commercial break thing is HIGHLY annoying).

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  • Beckoning Chasm

    Saw this one a long, long time ago; my main memory is that it seemed pretty mean-spirited but was otherwise well made.

  • Rock Baker

    That about sums it up. It’s very well crafted, but rather mean-spirited. Still, Ken is right about it being one of the better JAWS knock-offs.

  • zombiewhacker

    To me, the little kid getting eaten at the party was way over the line. Otherwise, I thought Alligator was a lot of fun.

    This was the movie that made me a lifetime Robert Forster fan. Rest in peace, my man.

  • zombiewhacker

    Anyone here ever seen Alligator 2? Although not exactly a “good” movie, it’s gotten what I believe to be an undeserved bad reputation.

    It’s also pretty much the only movie to cast Richard Lynch as a good guy in what is easily the best role he ever had.

  • The Rev.

    It’s been a while since I last saw the second one, but I recall long stretches of slog that dragged down the fun stuff. Maybe I’ll give it another look sometime, although I’d rather just rewatch the original.

  • This movie is the reason I always look in a pool before going into one.

  • Eric Hinkle

    The main thing I remember from this movie was the scene above with the maid being eaten whole and alive by the ‘gator. Quite a gruesome scene for my younger self!

  • Gamera977

    Oh thank you Zombiewhacker! I watched both movies Sat. It was awesome to see Lynch as a good guy and not only that but a Quint analog!!! And with a horrible Cajun (I think it was) accent no less!!!

  • Gamera977

    Yeah, the whole tail-whacking stuff- was I supposed to laugh???

  • Ken_Begg

    Grizzly on the kid thing, too. Obviously they were aping Jaws is that regards, but the latter was a bit more tasteful about it.

  • Rock Baker

    I found it a solid picture, aside from it’s subplot involving a cartoonishly evil real estate developer. That bit seemed so out of sync that it felt like it came from another movie entirely, like some college comedy. Otherwise, not bad at all.