Back when we did our Class of 1980 celebration, one of the films that I made sure we showed some love to was Lewis Teague’s Alligator (you can read the piece HERE), as it is a film that I have always believed should be celebrated as one of the best creature features to come out of the 1980s, or any decade really. It’s a story that, on paper, should be far more ridiculous and silly than Teague’s film ends up coming off, which i think is due to the talents of the director, legendary screenwriter John Sayles and Alligator’s top-notch cast, which includes the late, great Robert Forster and a number of other stellar performers.
With all that in mind, I have to say that Scream Factory’s 4K release of Alligator feels like a real gift to genre fans, especially since the film has been largely unavailable here in the States for so long now. Both the presentation of the film and the supplemental materials included are excellent, and I hope that this release leads to many more people out there discovering just what a gem of a movie that Alligator truly is.
For the uninitiated, Alligator starts off in the year 1968 with a family on vacation in Florida watching a local gator show. Their young daughter enjoys the experience so much that she brings a baby alligator home with her to the Midwest, but unfortunately her jerk dad decides one day to flush the creature down the toilet. The story picks up some 12 years later as we find out that the gator survived his travels and he now survives on eating the carcasses of animals who are dumped in the sewer system after they’ve been tested on by a pharmacology company. Due to the chemicals that the lab animals have been subjected to, the gator has become oversized, and he eventually decides to emerge from his hiding place and ventures out into the world in search of more food and jaw-snapping shenanigans. But along the way, a determined police officer by the name of David Madison (Forster) catches on to the existence of this creature, and even if he is doubted by so many along the way, David sets out to destroy the alligator before it is too late.
As mentioned, as a concept, Alligator should be a rather silly film, but I think because the script and everyone involved takes the concept so seriously is a huge reason why Alligator works for me as well as it does. At the time he wrote the script (1979), Sayles decided to take a rather unusual approach with the story of Alligator by making one of the central themes the ramifications of the mistreatment of animals by society as a whole. Back then, it wasn’t like animal activists were being heard as widely as they are now, so taking on ideas like animal testing during that day and age feels like something extremely monumental from Sayles, even if his approach to the topic throughout the script is often subtle at times.
Forster, as usual, is total perfection in Alligator and his willingness to just go all in on his character and this story is yet another reason why Teague’s movie works so well. David Madison is a guy who is impossible not to like from the very start, especially as he adopts a scruffy little mutt from a local pet store and makes small talk about his male-pattern baldness with the shop keeper played by memorable character actor Sidney (sometimes spelled Sydney) Lassick. Forster’s character even ends up charming the pants off of reptile expert Marisa Kendall (Robin Riker), who helps David in his quest to track down “Ramon the Alligator” (as Forster’s character calls him), and the duo share a great deal of chemistry throughout the film. David also has to deal with his boss, Chief Clark (yet another screen legend, The Godfather II’s Michael Gazzo), who is contending with political pressure to contain the creature and the press’s relentless nature to get answers about just what on earth is happening in their city.
Between Alligator’s fantastic special effects work, an entire slate of performers giving 110 percent, and Teague’s exceptional ability to helm a project that is equal-parts thrilling (it still manages to cause my pulse to race to this very day), thought-provoking, and hilariously entertaining at times, I can only hope that this new release of Alligator will help continue to preserve the legacy of this creature feature that may feel inspired by Jaws, but very much does a great job of doing its own thing all the same.
In terms of the audio and visual presentation of Alligator, to call this release of Teague’s directorial breakout a miracle almost feels like it falls short of just how great the film looks in Scream Factory’s new release. Admittedly, the first time I ever saw the film was off of a VHS tape and the last time I watched Alligator, it was via a YouTube video (since the DVD had been out of print for nearly 12 years at that point), so anything was going to be an upgrade from my previous experiences. But the 4K scan of the film is just astonishingly great, making this film that is now more than 40 years old feel like it has been wholly revitalized here. Hands down, it’s amazing and I’m grateful to have such a great way to enjoy Alligator from here on out.
In terms of the special features included in the release, there's some really great stuff that fans are going to totally dig. While I loved all the new supplemental materials, the biggest highlight for me was the interview with Bryan Cranston who was a PA on Alligator back in 1979 (fun fact: producer Gale Anne Hurd was also a PA on the project, too). He shares a lot of great stories from his time working on the film, from his start in the production offices to being recruited to work on the FX team prepping the titular creature for its explosion in Alligator’s finale. He also shares some stories about Forster too, who eventually showed up on Cranston’s highly popular show Breaking Bad in 2013, and honestly, I loved hearing from the actor in such an unexpected way here. More of these types of interviews included in special features, please.
The Alligator 4K release also includes new interviews with Rikers, who shares more fun stories about her time working with Forster (like how they often got stoned together during production), Teague and Sayles and special effects legend Robert Short who worked on Alligator’s gore gags and even had a bit part in the movie as well. Another fun element that’s included in this release is the TV version of Alligator (the film’s TV deal at the time was pretty monumental, and it ensured that the project was profitable even before it was released). Admittedly, what’s included in the TV version doesn’t really add a whole lot to the overall Alligator experience but I did enjoy a fun sequence involving an unsuspecting mother who leaves her toddler in the backyard while Ramon is lurking about. We also get a little bit more from Forster too in the TV footage, which is never a bad thing, including a scene with him and his feisty little puppy friend, but beyond that, there’s not much in the TV version that feels all that different from the theatrical version. In any case, I love that the TV version is included here, and I do think it’s worth your time to watch it at least once if you’re an Alligator enthusiast.
Without a doubt, if you’re someone who would consider yourself to be a long-time fan of Alligator and you are wondering whether or not this Collector’s Edition release is worth your hard-earned money, allow me to respond emphatically with this statement: HELL YES. I feel like I have been waiting for so long to finally enjoy Teague’s creature feature properly and this presentation of the film is truly remarkable in every possible way. And as someone who has been waiting for well over a decade to finally add Alligator to your personal media collections, you will not be disappointed by this release whatsoever. The film has never looked better, the bonus materials included also add a lot, and I think it’s great that Scream Factory even went so far as to include the TV version of Alligator to boot. I am a happy camper.
Movie Score: 4/5
Disc Score: 5/5
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
Daily Dead's Official Podcast! Daily Dead's Official Podcast!
