moonspinner55 Mutant alligator--30-40 feet in length--was once flushed down the toilet as a baby, and for the last 12 years has been surviving in the Missouri sewers on the discarded pet carcasses from a pharmaceutical laboratory injecting their animal subjects with an experimental synthetic form of testosterone. Homicide detective Robert Forster, besieged with unanswerable questions from the media after severed limbs begin popping up in the water canals, investigates. Half black-humored thriller in the wake of "Jaws", scored with what appears to be a "Jaws" parody soundtrack (or it could be an homage, though it's most likely just a rip-off). Forster gives a seasoned, well-rounded performance, though I'm not sure his dramatic weight and conviction is what screenwriter John Sayles had in mind here. Is the movie just a quickie product made to cash-in on the 'freakish animal' fad or a project taken seriously by those involved? Certainly Sayles' environmental message is meant to give us pause--and Forster's burnt-out detective is an instantly identifiable characterization--but all this in the service of a picture about a hungry alligator on a feeding frenzy? *1/2 from ****

Platypuschow I was informed that this is considered a classic within the genre. I'm not sure what genre that is but either way it was somewhat of an anti-climax.A baby alligator is flushed down the toilet and twelve years later its big and it's angry! It's one police officer & his scientist buddies job to track it and kill it while surrounded by people who simply don't believe them.Is it wrong that I was cheering on the alligator? After all it's not some evil monster, it's just an abandoned hungry animal.Alligator isn't bad, it's just not that exciting. It looks decent considering it's 37 tears old but it hardly grips you.The Good: Creature effects aren't that bad considering it's age The Bad: No consistency regarding the Alligators size Robert Forster's hairThings I Learnt From This Movie:Alligators can be easily purchased as pets Alligators make great jump ramps

Leofwine_draca John Sayles was a man responsible for writing some of the funniest, most affectionate monster movie follow-ups to JAWS. THE HOWLING is a mega-successful, universally-loved werewolf movie and PIRANHA one of the most purely entertaining B-movies of all time. ALLIGATOR is much the same as PIRANHA, a slightly silly, overblown B-movie with a large canvas, exquisite attention to detail and finely drawn characters.Usually with these monster movies you have to wait an age before the action begins but not so here. Things open in the thick of it as we're drawn into a murky conspiracy involving a pet shop owner selling dogs to an unscrupulous scientist at a research institute. The bad news is that he disposes of the genetically-engineered bodies in the local sewer system, where an alligator has been feeding on them for the past twelve years. Now the alligator is a huge, hulking monster ready to chow down on human flesh.Into this mess is thrown permanently bemused cop Robert Forster (VIGILANTE) in what is my favourite performance of his to date. He delivers a wry comic turn as the cop in way over his head, struggling to cope with stodgy superiors, an attractive female scientist sidekick and a receding hairline to boot. Robin Riker makes an impact as the love interest, far from the usual irritating sidekick we see in these films: she's feisty, strong-willed and more than a match for Forster.There are a couple of notable turns from veteran performers, including an ancient Dean Jagger (X THE UNKNOWN) as the murky figure behind the conspiracy and a scenery-chewing Henry Silva, clearly relishing his role as an over-the-top big game hunter who's determined to track down the beast. Watching Silva gather together a trio of 'gang bangers' to act as his native bearers was a highlight for me. The rest of the film is of the usual type: monster attacks, the authorities attempting to retaliate, then a pulse-pounding climax. Sayles shows a refreshingly realistic mean spirit here (a kid gets chewed after jumping in his swimming pool) and there are severed limbs galore.Director Lewis Teague should also be applauded for keeping his film lean and mean with a great pacing and some very well staged alligator attacks. These come in the form of full-size models plus a regular-sized alligator wrecking miniature scenery. I found the alligator scenes to be delivered with aplomb, especially the grisly attack on the wedding party at the climax which really delivers the outrageous goods. The sewer-based climax, with a sweaty Forster going up against the critter with a backpack full of dynamite, is very well handled too. You guessed it, I loved this movie, it's everything I could want from a B-movie monster flick. A sequel, ALLIGATOR II: THE MUTATION, followed ten years later...

inspectors71 I don't have to share it with anyone if I don't want to. Alligator is such a funny, poke-you-in-the-eye sort of horror flick that only the most deathly serious among us wouldn't get a chuckle from it. I remember, more than anything else, the relentless teasing that Robert Forster gets for his bad haircut. Really, haircut jokes? In a story about an alligator that gets flushed down the toi-toi and gets loaded up on growth hormones until, well, you get the picture.I saw Alligator on ABC shortly after it left its theatrical distribution with, probably, not a cent to its name. Yet, when I got to see it in VHS, I jumped at the chance. I honestly don't know if I'd jump again, but I have great affection for this cheap, fun drive-in fare.