(Originally posted on 10/2/19)
If you loved JAWS and just can't get enough of hapless landlubbers being menaced by a huge, bad-tempered amphibian with a sweet tooth for people, then you may be just the person KILLER CROCODILE (Severin Films, 1989) was made for. Especially if you also love really bad movies that are, for some reason, really fun to watch.
This one finds a group of idealistic young ecologists in the swamps of Santo Domingo, investigating reports that radioactive industrial waste is being dumped there. Toodling around in their flimsy little boat, they present a tasty buffet to the gigantic mutant crocodile that's cruising the area waiting for a chance to sink its teeth into them.
Meanwhile back at the village, an evil industrialist named Foley (Wohrman Williams) is conspiring to dump even more waste as local law official The Judge (a seriously slumming Van Johnson) looks the other way.
Thank goodness grizzled croc hunter Joe (Thomas Moore), sort of a poor man's combination of Crocodile Dundee and Quint from JAWS, is gearing up to go after the creature and hopefully show up in the nick of time when the young ecologists get themselves neck-deep in croc-infested water.
That's really all one needs to know about this frantic little low-budget Italian thriller from prolific producer-director Fabrizio De Angelis (as "Larry Ludman") except that the crocodile scenes are a total hoot.
I love the huge fake-looking monster that lurks around under the surface before crashing through the hull of a boat, chomping the dock out from under the feet of a little village girl, or leaping through the air to snatch someone right off the deck of their boat and into the water to be chowed down upon.
Really, the monster's glorious fakeness is a plus in this case because it just adds to the over-the-top fun factor during its every frenzied appearance in the movie.
This also helps us through the less exciting parts, i.e. the ones featuring actors delivering awful dialogue (as when one of the ecologists whines to croc-hunter Joe to "Stop calling me 'kid'! My name is KEVIN!")
The movie starts with two pre-titles attacks (the first recalls Chrissy's death from JAWS) and gives us plenty of quality croc-time after that with a series of giddy-fun attacks that often end with someone being chomped. Echoes of JAWS abound, including the extremely similar two-note musical theme by composer Riz Ortolani (MONDO CANE, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST) and the final man vs. monster showdown.
Acting is passable, with Richard Crenna's son Richard Anthony Crenna as the aforementioned "Kevin", the hunkier member of the ecological team who gets the most opportunities to be an unlikely hero when the croc's on the warpath.
Thomas Moore's "Joe" comes off best as the film's battle-scarred "Quint" substitute, while faded star Van Johnson (THE CAINE MUTINY, EAGLES OVER LONDON, EASY TO LOVE, THRILL OF A ROMANCE) happily overacts his way to a paycheck and a vacation in Santo Domingo with his broad and rather blowsy performance.
Producer-director De Angelis (DR. BUTCHER M.D., EMANUELLE AND THE LAST CANNIBALS) gets the most out of his meager budget during the action scenes, filming that huge, delightfully fake crocodile to its best advantage while fully utilizing some wonderfully lush locations. The film isn't exactly an all-out gorefest but there are some nice splattery touches here and there, including a particularly hemoglobin-hued finale.
The Blu-ray from Severin Films is scanned in 2k from the original negative and looks really good. English and Italian soundtracks are available along with subtitles and captions. Severin's typically full bonus menu offers extensive, informative interviews with members of the cast and crew including:
The Fearless Crocodile Hunter: Interview with Actor Pietro Genuardi
It Crawls: Interview with Cinematographer Federico Del Zoppo
In the Jaws of the Crocodile: Interview with Special Makeup FX Artist Giannetto De Rossi
Of Crocodiles and Men: Interview with Actor Richard Anthony Crenna
Trailer
Modestly mounted and produced but well-stocked with good old-fashioned bad-movie-style fun, KILLER CROCODILE is the toothy, scaly, blood-splattered bad monster movie that JAWS: THE REVENGE wished it could be.
Buy it from Severin Films
Gotta watch out for those Italian gators!
ReplyDelete