CROCODILE (2000)

CROCODILE (2000)

Tagline : Reality Bites!

I think I said this in my review for LAKE PLACID, but there are just a freakin ton of CROCODILE/ALLIGATOR movies and it kind of makes sense. I mean, the things are basically like mid-sized dinosaurs. In this one we get a fairly simplistic horror movie approach where teens are headed somewhere to do teen stuff, but really have no idea what they are in store for. 

Brady Turner (played by Mark McLachlan), Claire (played by Caitlin Martin) and Duncan McKay (played by Chris Solari) and a few others go out on a boat trip on a lake in California. It doesn’t take long before all heck breaks loose and a giant sized croc in the area is going to have its way. It also doesn’t help that these idiots stole the croc’s eggs, but whatever, we all knew mayhem was going down regardless of the plot device used to move things along. 

Some of the acting is okay in this movie, but I am not going to say any of it is actually good. Pacing wise everything is fine and the animatronics used are actually pretty cool, but the CGI is rough and this crocodile running just looks really goofy. So far I am fine with all that for a b-movie. There is a pretty decent scene that kind of harkens back to the tale told in FRIDAY THE 13TH PART II around the camp fire and I dug that bit. Because most of this movie is shot in the daylight, that is the scene that stands out the most to give this thing a horror feel, rather than a big animal action flick. The director Tobe Hooper isn’t a stranger to horror by any means. He directed both POLTERGEIST and INVADERS FROM MARS. 

Where this film struggles, is in its ability to create any likable characters. I mean, I couldn’t stand anyone in this film, not even the sheriff (and I usually like them for at least trying to help). The relationships between these teens are supposed to be pretty tight, but that isn’t what prevails one everything starts getting out of control. Another issue is most of the dialog after that campfire scene. It feels very out of place and nothing seems to really flow after a pretty great start to the movie. In light of those criticisms, I would have loved to give this effort a better rating. It’s not horrible if you could care less about most of what people watch movies for. The problem is that what this movie lacks, also makes it forgettable. 

I give CROCODILE a 3 OUT 7. I can appreciate some of the effort here and the movie is NOT as bad as some of the reviews, but a movies got to have at least one person I like. Even if that person doesn’t make it to the end of the movie. 

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