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Alligator

Play trailer Poster for Alligator R 1980 1h 34m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
87% Tomatometer 30 Reviews 49% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A herpetologist (Robin Riker) helps a detective (Robert Forster) track her flushed-away pet, now a king-size mutant called Ramone.
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Alligator

Critics Reviews

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Anton Bitel Little White Lies Earthy, bizarre and full-blooded, Lewis Teague’s B-movie brings its A-game and is no crock. Jan 10, 2024 Full Review Kim Newman Empire Magazine Enjoyable, but this croc-fest is no Lake Placid. Rated: 3/5 Jul 9, 2019 Full Review Variety Staff Variety Dumb as it is, director Lewis Teague brings some plusses to the pic. Robert Forster, as a detective, and Riker are amiable leads, never taking the film too seriously. Tech credits are cheap but serviceable. Mar 26, 2009 Full Review Alan Jones Radio Times Cujo director Lewis Teague brings subtle irony to the carnage and infuses the whole radical re-packaging of mutant monster clichés with an immensely likeable sense of insolent fun. Rated: 4/5 Oct 31, 2024 Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com …let’s raise a glass to Alligator, one of the most sublime B-pictures ever made; wit and wisdom make for great films, and this adorable monster movie has all the bite you could hope for… Rated: 5/5 Feb 12, 2024 Full Review Chris Jackson Starburst Alligator is absolute rollercoaster of a movie, full of humour, action, explosions, snappy (no pun intended) dialogue, well-observed characters, many cast members with extremely pleasing faces, and one of the most enjoyably chaotic weddings... Jan 26, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Mania I. Cleverly written by John Sayles this creature feature about a giant alligator in the sewers it's a fun Rock. Sometimes silly sometimes slapstick humor but all fun. Great fun characters and strong direction make this movie the cult classic it is. One of the best big critter movies of the 1980s. There is a little drag in the story and it slows a bit but still it's a lot of fun. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/17/25 Full Review Blu B A Creature Feature Classic. I'm kind of shocked how this is actually a well told movie from start to finish and really doesn't fall into the perils of the worst cliches of the genre. Music is decent but it does sound a bit too much like Jaws at times and isn't used much. Acting isn't bad either. David & Marisa are good honestly. Gazzo as the chief is a solid touch also. However, some of the supporting cast is cheesy and bit over the top. Everything else is pretty solid honestly. The alligator design is really good at times. I like how they just use some clever camera tricks, editing, and don't ever use stock footage or anything like that. The POV shots remind me of Jaws a lot too which this clearly took inspiration from. But ti also feels like its own thing to. It focuses mostly on the mystery of the creature 80% of the time and doesn't waste time setting up boring characters or too many with pointless sideplots. It follows a logical plot driven order of events and for the most part the people involed aren't idiots either. It does bounce around a bit with the romance, the big game hunter, and it kiling some people but it's very easy to follow to its benefit and it doesn't do that for long. If your a big fan of creature features, the director, any actors in this, or 80's horror than give this a try. It will surpise you. Probably the best Jaws knock off I've ever seen and I mean that in a good way. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/15/25 Full Review Robson C Um filhote de jacaré é jogado na privada e ele consegue sobreviver nos esgotos da cidade. Principalmente graças um laboratório que está testando hormônios de crescimento em cães e os animais mortos são jogados no esgoto também. O jacaré cresce e passa a incluir seres humanos na sua dieta. O que leva o detetive David Madison a investigar. Alligator é filho direto do sucesso de Tubarão de Steven Spielberg. Tanto que há cenas que simulam o ataque do jacaré como o do tubarão, além da trilha sonora imitar a do filme de Spielberg. O filme é um exemplo de criatividade para dar vida ao jacaré gigante, levando em conta o orçamento baixo e a inexistência de CGI para criar as cenas. Mas elas são bem feitas e críveis, levando em conta a falta de verba e tecnologia. O sangue corre solto e vemos bastante membros decepados e vítimas de ataque sem pernas. Robert Foster se sai bem no papel do detetive cínico, meio noir. Pura diversão oitentista. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/10/25 Full Review Dallas H Trivia Bit - Bryan Cranston was a special effects production assistant on this film. In other news, this creature feature movie is goofy as hell, and I got a kick out of watching it. It's worth watching again. And what's the deal with Henry Silva playing a very creepy poacher of a character? Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/16/25 Full Review Stephen C Failure in 1 hour and 34 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 06/14/25 Full Review Nick O An urban Jaws that swaps a giant great white shark for a pissed off mutant alligator. Even as the terror ensues, we can feel safe with Bob Forster in the driver's seat in this classic drive-in monster flick. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/27/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Alligator

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Movie Info

Synopsis A herpetologist (Robin Riker) helps a detective (Robert Forster) track her flushed-away pet, now a king-size mutant called Ramone.
Director
Lewis Teague
Producer
Brandon Chase, Mark L. Rosen
Screenwriter
John Sayles
Production Co
Alligator
Rating
R
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 2, 1980, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Sep 18, 2007
Runtime
1h 34m
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