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| Alligator [1980] | ![Alligator [1980]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71VE258VW3L._SL160_.gif)
 enlarge | Director: Lewis Teague
Actors: Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Michael V. Gazzo, Dean Jagger, Sydney Lassick
Studio: Digital Entertainment Ltd
Category: DVD
List Price: £15.99
Buy Used: £9.95
You Save: £6.04 (38%)
New (1) from £14.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 39664
Format: Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Running Time: 87 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5024165829387
ASIN: B00004CZ7O
Theatrical Release Date: July 2, 1980
Release Date: May 21, 2001
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: POSTED WITHIN 24HRS FROM OUR IPSWICH SHOP.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Realistic film about the very real threat of a giant alligator. August 10, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
If people insist on throwing unwanted pet alligators in the toilet and also eating hormone enhanced fast food also being processed and flushed into the same sewer system you should expect mutated alligators, and rats. This film shows how a modern city would deal with the increasing problem of giant reptiles attacking people. Well made with great special effects and snappy dialogue it should have won oscars. Watch it!
 Cheap and Cheerful! July 13, 2008
Well, I quite enjoyed it anyway. Ok, so it's a tacky piece of hokum, and your sense of reality most definitely needs to be switched off but Alligator is a nice, tidy little 80's monster movie. The effects aren't too shoddy for once - ok the plot is way too predictable, and you can quite easily guess who's next to be chomped, but that's the point of a film like this isn't it?
All in all, it makes for an enjoyable Saturday night viewing with a few drinks and snacks. Just remember if monster movies aren't your thing, then don't go there! Stick with your Swedish Arthouse philosophical ramblings about love, death and your mother....
Excellent 80's monster movie! March 9, 2008
I remember seeing this neat little movie way back in the day when video first took off! An excellent example of what you can do on a tight budget!
A good mix of horror and comedy blend very well to make this one great monster ride.
Good solid performances from all the cast (especially the fantastic Robert Forster). The Alligator effects are very impressive for this low budget movie.
Well worth checking out.
A GREAT MONSTER MOVIE August 8, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Detective David Madison (Robert Forester) is on a case where human body parts are turning up in a sewage filtration system. One of them belongs to a chemical research facility where the head, Slade (Dean Jagger) is giving orders to use puppies in experiments for gene growth. Since the attacks have been traced to have originated from inside the sewer, Madison and another officer, Kelly, (Perry Lang) venture into the sewers to investigate. They find the source to be a giant alligator that attacks them both, with Kelly being killed. Madison and his boss, (Michael Gazzo) visit a Dr. Kendall, (Robin Riker) a specialist on alligators. A reporter (Bart Braverman) investigating Madison's claims goes into the sewer to check, resulting in his death as well at the teeth of the alligator. However, he photographs the alligator during the attack, giving evidence of the creature's existence. A plan to flush it out of the sewers fails, as the alligator remains in the sewer. The alligator erupts from under a street and kills another policeman, then escapes into a nearby waterpond. A big-game hunter (Henry Silva) is brought in to find the alligator, but he is also killed. The alligator crashes a party at Slade's mansion, leaving the house in ruins and body parts scattered across the property. Madison and Kendall come to their sense to stop the alligator together when they realize that the alligator is the grown-up adult of the alligator Kendall thought she lost as a young girl. They lead him back into the sewer and blow it up with explosives.
The Good News: The movie is actually very quickly paced. There is a killing averaging almost every ten minutes, and they are all very violent deaths. There is a lot of gore in this movie also, as many victims are killed very gruesomely. The best death belongs to Burke the hunter, as he is killed very slowly and is actually eaten. You can see his body slowly sink lower in the alligator's jaws as he swallows him down. Also, the alligator `Ramon' is extremely convincing as a robotic prop. The detailing is amazing, as the skin looks like a real alligator skin. He has a wide range of moves that are natural and believable, for once making the reptile better on the screen than his human counterparts. Also, it is almost an action-film, as scenes have an action-ish appearance. The attack on Slade's mansion, the canal fight, the ending explosions, and the bombardment in the waterpond all come together to give it an action-style movie. That being said, `Alligator' is still a horror movie. The reason for the creature to be is a popular urban myth come true, and the chemical angle, while glossed over briefly, is an important one and fits with the movie. The main reason for this being a horror movie is the suspense. Being an 80's movie, I was shocked at how suspenseful it was. The killing of the animal control worker, the killing of the reporter, the false-revelation between Madison and Kelly, and the ending especially are quite suspenseful. The ending, where Madison is trying to set a bomb to kill the alligator, and showing the alligator's advance on Madison are effectively shot suspense scenes, and then after setting the bomb, Madison gets trapped under a manhole, then gets free in seconds real-time. Setting the film in dark, narrow sewer canals was also an interesting approach, giving the viewer an almost claustrophobic feeling.
The Bad News: Dear God, the acting here is atrocious. Riker and Forester have zero chemistry between them, and their scenes together are very wooden. As expected, though, the alligator does change sizes very frequently. Even the use of a real alligator was used in several scenes as the creature approaches Madison at the end, making the viewer sit-through several quick changes in the animal's size and appearance, as the alligator they use is oh so obvious a baby in a miniature sewer set.
The Final Verdict: `Alligator' is probably one of the greatest creature-on-the-loose films of all time. It never makes you stupider after watching it, and it provides enough diversity in it to satisfy almost every kind of horror film fan.
Classic 80's horror movie with all the trimmings! April 22, 2000
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
Main reason I'm writing this is because I've just been to see Lake Placid, or is that Lake Flacid! Man, what a let down. Pretty good cast, except for the gran from the Golden Girls, but one of the worst scripts ever recorded. Anyway back to Alligator, yeah so this time you have to suspend reality indefinitely and direction wise things could have been tighter, but hey it's got Rob Forester in it! It's a load of fun, loads of people get eaten and it's actually quite suspenseful. So watch it.
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