Review: 'Alligator' Still Fun (As Long As You Don't Take It Too Seriously)

After the huge success of the movie "Jaws" in 1975, many "creature in the water" copycat films were made. Some that come to mind include the awful "Tentacles," the silly "Piranha," and the purposely campy "Blood Beach." 1980's "Alligator" is another rip-off. The film has just been released on Blu-ray with a brand new 4K scan transfer and a few new special features.

"Alligator" is actually enjoyable fun, if you don't take it too seriously.

In an incident from twelve years earlier, a pet alligator is flushed down the toilet, ending up in the sewers of the city. The beast grows to enormous proportions after feeding on cats and dogs dumped into the sewer. Mutilated bodies start showing up, and it's discovered that the 36-foot alligator is responsible.

Like "Jaws," "Alligator" has a cop hell-bent on finding out what's going on. Robert Forster is the lead in this case, and one of the best things about the film. There's also the requisite mayor character, who wants to cover up what's really going on. The alligator itself is a machine-concoction so fake it makes the mechanical shark in "Jaws" look real. Luckily, most of the time only the alligator's face is shown, though in one hilarious scene the alligator attacks a wedding and uses its mechanical tail to hurl people into the air. But the best scene is definitely when the alligator breaks out of the sewer and comes onto land. You'll howl with laughter at the insanity of it all.

Writer John Sayles is featured in a brief documentary, and he discusses what "Alligator" is really supposed to be about. He mentions the constant class struggles seen in the film. Sayles also says that he purposely tried to inject as much humor as possible into "Alligator," and it clearly shows. He mentions the alligator poop scene as one of his favorite humorous scenes. There is also an audio commentary with director Lewis Teague and actor Robert Forster.

"Alligator" is a great Blu-ray if you're in the mood for a good B-horror movie send-up.

"Alligator" is available now on Blu-ray from Shout Factory.