Get a grip on this good 'gator' flick. Some tongue-in-cheek dialog and gruesome special effects makes for an entertaining and fun movie to watch. A little girl's science project is flushed down the stool and a dozen years later grows to about 36 feet long living in the sewer system of Chicago. Sustained by a diet of pet carcasses used in an experimental growth clinic, this monster 'gator' is not going down without creating some terror and having a few snacks first. A very good mutant creature running amok movie.

Very able cast led by Robert Forster and Robin Riker. Doing notable work in support are Henry Silva, Michael V. Gazzo and veteran actor Dean Jagger. The sewer scenes pretty well set a creepy atmosphere. My favorite scene is during a brief encounter with the munching menace..."Do you think two sticks of dynamite will do?"

Ahhh, one of the classic 80's Guilty Pleasure flicks, right up there with "Humanoids From the Deep", and "C.H.U.D.". Ramon, the cute little baby gator who gets flushed into the sewers of Chi-town eats some dead dogs on super-steroids, and becomes a giant, ravenous walking handbag with teeth. Chicago is terrorized, and only a handful of veteran B-moovie actors can save the day! Robert Forster("The Black Hole", "Delta Force", "Satan's Princess") is our balding, square-jawed hero; Robin Riker("Buffy the Vampire Slayer" tv series, "Dead Badge")plays the snuggly herpatologist; Henry Silva("Chained Heat", "Megaforce", "Amazon Women on the Moon") plays a surly big-game hunter; Michael Gazzo("The Godfather II", "Sudden Impact") is the over-worked police chief; Dean Jagger("Twelve O'Clock High", "X: The Unknown", "Game of Death")is the evil corporate bigwig who gets smooshed in his own limo; Sydney Lassick("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", "Shakes the Clown", "Fast Walking")is a twisted pooch purveyor who gets pulverized. In fact, LOTS of people get chomped, stomped, and crushed by the mad gator, but it's all done with wit and enough sense not to take its self too seriously. Udders cowplain that "Alligator" is merely anudder "Jaws" rip-off, but fail to appreciate the film's tongue-in-cheek humor & fun. Penultimate scene of the hungry gator running amok at a garden party is an all-time classic! Cud have been really stupid, but the film benefits from a smart script by John Sayles(w. "The Howling", "Matewan", "Eight Men Out"),and solid direction by Lewis Teague(d."The Lady in Red", "Cujo", "Navy SEALS"). Pretty good fx further cowplimant the moovie. Not a perfect film, by any means, but a great choice to pop in on a dull Saturday night with a greasy pizza & some moo juice! Stop flushing those baby gators down the john!! The MooCow says rent "Alligator" today! ;=8)

It's amazing how enjoyable this or film is, obviously made with the memory of "Jaws" in mind, but suspenseful and scary and non-stop thrills. The film starts with a cute little baby alligator bought at a pet store, then tossed away cavalierly by the father when he's become annoyed with it. Over a decade goes by and all of a sudden a series of body parts are being discovered, indicating some type of slaughter going on underground in the sewers. It's not long before we see the first victim, and it's the typical target that is always prevalent in a horror movie of this nature, a heavyset person. But nothing prepares you for when the alligator, now massively large, explodes out of the sewer with a bunch of children around playing baseball, and making the next favorite target type of these kind of creatures its next meal.

Bloody arms and legs, some decaying animals and the sight of rats will provide lots of "eewing" for the audience, and those are always usually followed by laughter because it takes the viewer by surprise. Robert Forster stars as a police officer whose partner becomes gator chow, and that makes him a determined vigilante desperate to take down the critter. They do a good job in creating this monster, basically a small dinosaur, but even the smallest dinosaur can do more than just leave a scratch. This is a lot of fun and definitely a must for classic 80's horror fans. I'll take this kind of horror film over the slasher movies any day.