Alligator (1980)

Although the film was made and released with no studio backing, both Teague and Sayles came out of the Corman School, and used those lessons to knock Alligator a notch above the usual killer animal fare.

Pretty good, as far as these gigantic Alligator things go.

Before he launched an art-house directing career, John Sayles wrote a plethora of wiseacre, cunning horror-comedies for Roger Corman such as 'Piranha' and this gruesomely funny gem. Robert Forster is street-wise and unerringly charismatic as the detective who is investigating the string of sewer-based slayings and in a self-deprecating lack of seriousness, Forster's receding hairline is the subject of multifarious jabs. Sayles upends the old adage about flushing an alligator down the toilet and transforms it into a darkly humorous cautionary tale. For the most part, the alligator skulks through the shadows but once it is unveiled, the combination of animatronics and an alligator on a scale model, is an impressive feat. Perhaps the most pungent contribution of Sayles' screenplay is that if one were to extract the alligator scenes entirely, 'Alligator' would still be a exceedingly frolicsome satire of the New York lifestyle (Forster casually disarms a perpetrator with a makeshift "bomb" strapped to his chest as if it is a matter-of-fact occurrence). Teague rachets up the palpable suspense in many of the subterranean scenes (without a musical stinger to accompany it, the alligator can seen in the underground backdrop like a subliminal image). Henry Silva materializes midway through as a big-game hunter and his scenery-chewing hamminess is a joy to behold. Unlike the sublethal piranha, "Ramon" (as he dubbed earlier in the film) constitutes a baleful threat. Of the 'Jaws' imitators in the late 70's and early 80's, 'Alligator' is a wonderfully facetious addition that doesn't skimp on the offbeat humor or referential jokes (graffiti stating that "Harry Lime Lives" is spray-painted on a wall).

When it comes to these creature features, they're pretty much a dime a dozen. I found Alligator to be quite special for a couple of reasons. First of all, it was made by competent filmmakers who put their own spin on things without losing sight of the main narrative. Second, Robert Forster, Perry Lang and Henry Silva are in it. The lovely Robin Riker is also in it, and one must experience Michael Vincente Gazzo's performance which is amazingly bad! Third, not only does it reference The Third Man in a very nice way, it's also been referenced and lifted from for everything from movies to video games. There are supposed to be some extended and deleted scenes from a TV version of the movie out there that I would like to have seen included on the side of the disc I watched, but the movie itself is quite entertaining. It's constantly giving us new information without becoming boring, and I like that a lot. It's also nice to see a leading guy who's not all that great. Not that Robert Forster isn't great, but the way he portrays his character makes him seem like a douche bag. It's great that he isn't the usual heroic type, yet still manages to come through in the end.