DVD review (region 1)
Directed by Lewis Teague
Starring Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Michael V. Gazzo
Release date Out now

A police officer and a reptile expert join forces to stop a giant man-eating alligator prowling the sewers of Chicago…

Pay no attention to the cover art for this DVD release of Alligator. It somehow manages to make an articulate and witty thriller look like little more than a straight-to-DVD Jaws rip-off.

Admittedly, the basic narrative is loosely based on the Jaws formula, with an abnormally large animal on the rampage and a local law enforcement officer becoming obsessed with stopping it. Completing the Jaws comparisons, there is also a scientific expert and a hunter who have opposing methods of stopping the creature’s reign of terror.

Alligator is no cheap cash-in though, and the screenplay by John Sayles adds a great deal to the familiar structure. There’s a strong political subtext, with some stinging comments on the ills of big business and urban decay. Sayles also lends the film a lot of humour, with in-jokes in plentiful supply (a dead sewage worker is named as ‘Ed Norton’ – a character from the Honeymooners who shared the same profession).

Despite the low budget, the effects are mostly effective, with a mixture of miniatures, animatronics and a real alligator. But as with Spielberg’s great white, director Lewis Teague mainly relies on quick cuts and dark cinematography in lieu of a convincing monster. In using this method he captures a true sense of menace until we finally see the creature in all its glory.

Although this DVD has a somewhat grainy picture quality, it does feature a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track, which provides clear dialogue and sound effects, and it gives the film an added depth that the mono version lacked.

There are also some brief but welcome extras. An audio commentary featuring director Lewis Teague and actor Robert Forster is fun, with both of them displaying a warm sense of affection for the film. Alligator Author is a 17-minute interview with screenwriter John Sayles in which he describes his memories of the shoot. It’s interesting to note that while Sayles has enjoyed considerable critical success since Alligator, his big break, he still clearly holds the film in high regard. Jonathan Wilkins

VERDICT: 9/10
A sharply-scripted creature feature.