Alligator is yet another creature feature that has its root in Jaws, but it is certainly not a blatant rip off. It is ridiculous but in a self-acknowledging way. Taking itself seriously is the mistake that Orca (the first Jaws rip off in '77) made. and although I can't say that it Alligator is necessarily more intelligent, the script it offers frequent enjoyable banner, and an attempt to make characters that you want to see live rather than become lunch. Topping all that, Alligator features one of the most frequent trade marks of the genre, an ending that opens the doors for a potentially worse sequel. It is something that seeming fly cannot be helped, even Jaws went that way. Sequel or not, check out Alligator if you can, it is better than it may sound.
In the beginning, a girl buys a baby alligator at the zoo (well her mother buys it for her). She names it Ramona (after the Beverly Cleary books), but that is irrelevant, sorry. Next scene, her father in a moment of frustration takes his anger out on the six inch reptile and flushes it down the toilet to its doom (actually to its growth spurt) Jump forward twenty years and into the life of detective David Madison. He and his parter have begun an investigation of a possible illegal animal experimentation in a local facility. Their search for the bodies, takes them into the sewers. Madison's parter meets his end, and it doesn't take long before the creature manages to break out. All of a sudden the city becomes the site of an enormous 'bug-hunt' for a forty foot eating machine. Nobody really knows what to do except for Madison and his new girlfriend who is a reptilian specialist.
Let me now point out right now that the most important trick to shooting a convincing monster, regardless of how much money you spend on effects is choosing your camera angles. This is something that Alligator does quite well. The beast doesn't look like a giant fabricated puppet, it looks like a scaly, fleshy reptile, actually sometimes it is. A number of wide shots were done with miniature sets and a juvenile gator about a meter in length.
Something else worth noting about Alligator which helps is that, the plot not only acknowledges its absurdity but it tries to build on that with a certain sense of humor (although Lake Placid did this a little better). Sometimes however, it gets a bit too absurd. One scene in particular is especially ridiculous. Around the ¾ point, the gator crashes a garden party, and kills about twenty people. When I say kills I don't just mean kills and eats, I mean that it kills. The way the creature chomps on one person drops him in a puddle of blood and moves onto another person is scientifically incorrect. Also the way it flattens a limo with its tail is even more ridiculous considering the shape of its backbone. Then again to be fair, Jaws also had its share of scientific inaccuracies.
Alligator does what it intends to do, which is offer campy fun in Jaws tradition. Considering what has come out since, the film actually works even better. From the bowels of the city to the bowels of a giant reptilians digestive track, Alligator is weird/quirky and occasionally bloody ride, which will sustain viewers for a good hour and a half. That for me would be considered a success.
In the beginning, a girl buys a baby alligator at the zoo (well her mother buys it for her). She names it Ramona (after the Beverly Cleary books), but that is irrelevant, sorry. Next scene, her father in a moment of frustration takes his anger out on the six inch reptile and flushes it down the toilet to its doom (actually to its growth spurt) Jump forward twenty years and into the life of detective David Madison. He and his parter have begun an investigation of a possible illegal animal experimentation in a local facility. Their search for the bodies, takes them into the sewers. Madison's parter meets his end, and it doesn't take long before the creature manages to break out. All of a sudden the city becomes the site of an enormous 'bug-hunt' for a forty foot eating machine. Nobody really knows what to do except for Madison and his new girlfriend who is a reptilian specialist.
Let me now point out right now that the most important trick to shooting a convincing monster, regardless of how much money you spend on effects is choosing your camera angles. This is something that Alligator does quite well. The beast doesn't look like a giant fabricated puppet, it looks like a scaly, fleshy reptile, actually sometimes it is. A number of wide shots were done with miniature sets and a juvenile gator about a meter in length.
Something else worth noting about Alligator which helps is that, the plot not only acknowledges its absurdity but it tries to build on that with a certain sense of humor (although Lake Placid did this a little better). Sometimes however, it gets a bit too absurd. One scene in particular is especially ridiculous. Around the ¾ point, the gator crashes a garden party, and kills about twenty people. When I say kills I don't just mean kills and eats, I mean that it kills. The way the creature chomps on one person drops him in a puddle of blood and moves onto another person is scientifically incorrect. Also the way it flattens a limo with its tail is even more ridiculous considering the shape of its backbone. Then again to be fair, Jaws also had its share of scientific inaccuracies.
Alligator does what it intends to do, which is offer campy fun in Jaws tradition. Considering what has come out since, the film actually works even better. From the bowels of the city to the bowels of a giant reptilians digestive track, Alligator is weird/quirky and occasionally bloody ride, which will sustain viewers for a good hour and a half. That for me would be considered a success.