Alligator Director: Lewis Teague /
Writer: John Sayles / Story by: Frank Ray Perilli /
1980 / Runtime: 91 min (Theatrical Cut) 99 Minutes (TV Cut)
Alligator II: The Mutation Director: Jon Hess Writer: Curt Allen 1991 / Runtime: 91 Minutes Released by: 101 Films
The Pitch: 101 Films presents the cult classic creature feature Alligator (1980) on 4K UHD, along with the TV cut and 1991 sequel Alligator II: The Mutation (1991) on Blu-ray, title 033 on the 101 Films Black Label. Packed with interviews with cast and crew, this limited-edition release is packaged in a rigid box with brand-new artwork and includes a limited-edition booklet with new writing on the films. A B-movie masterpiece, Alligator remains a standout picture from the post-70s creature feature boom, with surprising depth and an overtly critical take on the inaction on environmental issues of the time that is still relevant today. Its lesser-known sequel Alligator II: The Mutation, follows a similar path to its predecessor with a more comedic and knowing undertone in true B-movie fashion.
Alligator: From Director Lewis Teague (Cujo) and screenwriter John Sayles (The Howling) comes an unstoppable thriller with bite. A family returning from Florida decides their pet baby alligator is too much to handle and flushes him down the toilet. Meanwhile, Slade Laboratories is conducting secret experiments with animals and disposing of them in the sewer. The alligator, fending for itself, begins to feed on the dead animals, and grows. Now, twelve years later, after several mysterious murders, David Madison (Robert Forster, Jackie Brown) is on the case to find out who ... or what … is killing people.
Alligator II - The Mutation: Deep in the sewers beneath the city of Regent Park, a baby alligator feeds on the experimental animals discarded by Future Chemicals Corporation. Nourished by the toxic growth hormones and other mutating chemicals, the gator grows immense in size ... and voracious in appetite. Now, it must kill to survive. It’s a classic confrontation between man and beast. This sequel to the classic thriller Alligator stars Joseph Bologna (Transylvania 6-5000), Steve Railsback (Lifeforce), Dee Wallace (The Howling). Richard Lynch (Bad Dreams) and Kane Hodder (Jason X).
Always a surprise for first-time watchers, Lewis Teague’s Alligator has a lot of heart. Teague, was just starting out in his career after making a film for Roger Corman, and injected with humour and subtext by Sayles, Alligator is one of the choicest films to emerge from the post-Jaws monster on the loose mini-boom. The late, great Robert Forster, who was on the verge of stardom when he did this and had made Medium Cool with Haskell Wexler, plays his part with a curmudgeonly sense of humour. In on the joke, but refusing to be the butt of it, Forster does allow a few jibes at his expense, since he was having hair replacement at the time and knew it would show on film, he had Sayles write jokes about it into the script, something that was later referenced in Tarantino's Jackie Brown.
Robert Forster and Michael Gazzo: Hairpieces optional.
The film is full of stuff like this, with sly wit and self-deprecation being the order of the day. Underneath the toughened hide of low-budget monster movie beats the heart of a story that perfectly illustrates how social diseases spread from the street to the penthouses and high-rises and how corporations and the rich are inherently evil. Trust me when I say Aligator is worth revisiting. The movie is full of recognisable 70s and 80s film faces, including Michael Gazzo, Sydney Lassick, and Henry Silva, who sends up his tough guy image delightfully as the great white hunter, choppered in to save the day. Will end up as Alligator food? You'll have to wait and see. Like Jaws before it, Alligator remembers that the most important part of any monster movie is the humanity.
Social disease rising up from the sewer.
Alligator II: The Mutation, also included in this box set, gamely does its best to continue the themes laid out in the first film but moves the action from New York to Florida, where a huge real estate deal being pushed through by a corrupt businessman is threatened by an oversized Alligator, made larger than life by the very toxic waste his chemical company has been dumping. You largely get retread and spins on all the material from the first film, but it's no less enjoyable for it, even though it lacks the scuzzy charm of the earlier movie. Joseph Bolonga can't live up to Forster's gravitas, although Steve Railsback's sneering land-Baron cuts a nasty villain, plus you get Richard Lynch as this Film's 'gator-hunter and low-key scream queen /everybody' s favourite mom Dee Wallace Stone as Bologna's wife. Although the sequel isn't available as a 4K disc like the first film, the transfer is crisp and looks great, especially for what appears to be a TV film.
Doin’ it for the working classes: The Alligator.
The extras on the discs are plentiful, ported over from Shout! Factory's release. Whilst some may gripe at the lack of new extras, I'm personally grateful I don't have to pay import charges on the discs. Of particular interest is an interview with Teague, whose pixie-like sense of humour about the whole endeavour adds a fun dimension to it. And he's just one of a host of several extended interviews that discuss the making of the film, including Sayles who, like Teague, has a special place win his heart for it. Jon Hess, who directed the sequel is refreshingly honest in his interview, giving you some amusing moments. Most curious of all is the 20-odd minute interview with none other than Bryan Cranston, who didn't appear in the movie, but worked as a PA and special effects assistant on the first film and recounts with glee making blood and guts for the film's leathery title star. Also included is the extended TV cut of Alligator, which adds some nice character moments and threats to the run-time. Tellingly, not one person in the interviews talks about the film negatively and seems to have had a genuinely good time making it, and that enthusiasm shines through. 101 Films has done a great job with this release. A pleasure to watch.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Alligator:
Theatrical cut (4K & Blu-ray)
Alternate TV cut (Blu-ray)
Everybody In The Pool – An interview with actress Robin Riker Wild In The Streets – An interview with Director Lewis Teague
It Walks Among Us – An interview with screenwriter John Sayles
Luck Of The Gator – An interview with special makeup effects artist Robert Short
Gator Guts, The Great River, and Bob – An Interview With Bryan Cranston
Additional Scenes From The TV Version
Teaser Trailer
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots
Alligator II: The Mutation
From The Echo Lake Lagoon – An Interview With Director Jon Hess
Dead In The Water – An Interview With Special Effects Coordinator John Eggett
Cutting With Teeth – An Interview With Editor Marshall Harvey
Becoming The Hunted – An Interview With Actor Kane Hodder
Blood Brothers – An Interview With Second Unit Director Eugene Hess
Theatrical Trailer
