'Gator Bait (1974)
** (out of 4)
Playboy Playmate Claudia Jennings stars as Desiree, a Cajun woman who finds herself seeking revenge when she's blamed for a crime she didn't commit, which leads to a sheriff and a redneck family killing her youngest sister. Soon there's a showdown in the Louisiana swamps as the redneck woman shows some true vengeance. 'GATOR BAIT was released in a time when redneck action pictures had a place to be screen on drive-in screens on the weekends. This type of movie could never be made today and perhaps that's a good thing because stuff like this belongs in the 1970s and when viewed today you can't help but feel a bit of nostalgia. The film certainly isn't a masterpiece but fans of this sort of thing should find enough entertainment to make it worth watching. I'd argue that the film's first half is actually a lot better than what follows but those who enjoy exploitation should be entertained either way. I really thought the first ten-minutes or so were pretty funny as the two redneck men go around trying to catch this wild woman. Their little chase made for a couple nice laughs and we also have some rather funny dialogue. From this point on it's basically just the men walking around the swamp trying to capture the girl. I think the film slows down a bit too much here and a little more action or at least less dialogue would have helped keep things moving at a better pace. The performances really aren't all that memorable and this includes Jennings. I'm not sure if the directors asked her to talk the way she does in the film but it was rather hard to understand her. Considering this is an exploitation picture, the lack of any real nudity was somewhat surprising with the Playmate only giving a couple quick shots. The Louisiana settings are certainly a major plus as you really do feel as if you're down in this dirty swamp. 'GATOR BAIT isn't a masterpiece but it's certainly a decent way to kill ninety-minutes.
