Entertaining

Posted by Jim Mayor on Oct 29th 2022

Alligator (1980) is a traditionally formulaic monster movie, but surprisingly good. Sure there is the unlikely romance between the protagonist aging-cop-with-a-history Robert Forster as David Madison, and the “teeny-bopper” scientist expert Robin Riker as Marisa Kendall, but it is tastefully done. A child’s pet alligator, Ramon, flushed by an unsympathic father, survives and when fully grown, twelve years later, is a biggie. It seems that a questionable animal experimentation laboratory is disposing of unwanted dog carcasses in the sewer system; it, of course, seems they were experimenting with growth hormones. The adult Ramon does have excellent taste in food as he hastily disposes of several of the villains in the movie. Thanks, Ramon. Some of the animal carcasses are quite realistic, but could also possibly be staged. No AHA note at the end, however. If you can get past the realistic animal cadavers and some blood from severed human limbs, it is an entertaining movie.