Mama mia! I'm still trying to catch my breath after just viewing this edge-of-your-seat action/ horror flick from Italian B-Movie auteur Sergio Martino.
Where to begin. This masterpiece starts off with a photographer(nicely played by Claudio Cassanelli) and his fashion model arriving by helicopter at an island resort - with the remit of taking some promotional pictures for the island. Cassanelli barely has time to adjust to the (lack of) pace, before he is quickly introduced to the resort's owner (Mel Ferrer) and his assistant (Barbara Bach) who whisk him off on a tour of the resort, and we are soon presented with the island's selling point... alligators! Before long, a live animal is being fed whole to the snapping reptiles in the resort's alligator farm - a briskly edited scene; and duly carried out by the resort's alligator wrangler( Romano Puppo). A curt exchange between Cassanelli and Puppo eventuates and we now know where this film is heading. We are then subjected to a few obligatory scenes of Cassanelli taking location snaps with the model which add nothing to the film other than showcasing the actress' inability to strike more than two poses.
Twenty minutes or so later, we finally clap eyes on the 'Great (rubber) Alligator' attacking a boat mercilessly. Luckily for viewers though, the hapless model is the unfortunate passenger and along with a member of the Island's local tribe; both make a reasonable snack for the crocadilian. So much for their passionless liaison on a nearby island. The boat eventually washes up on the shore - with neatly contoured 'teeth marks', leading a suspicious Cassanelli and Bach to spring into action and set about discovering the mystery of the abandoned boat and the perfect teeth marks.
Now the carnage begins...
The film really gathers pace, and we are inundated with boggy, barely visible underwater scenes; unspectacular set-pieces; bit-part actors coming to grizzly ends; poor dialogue; an alligator that's as rigid as the board it's made with, and a cameo from exploitation's favourite pimp/ gym instructor Bobby Rhodes!
Eventually, the film comes to a head; with celebrations aboard a movable raft ala Castellari's "Last Jaws" being torpedoed by the lifeless alligator and left stranded in the middle of a lake; for numerous extras to form an orderly queue and jump off the raft to get picked off at will by the alligator. Exactly what happens to Puppo and Rhodes in the remainder film is a mystery...or maybe I just missed that bit.
I may sound dismissive of this gem, but in actual fact I quite enjoyed it. All the points I have made about this flick in my eyes are good things and If like me, you are a big fan of Italian B-movies and a fan of Sergio Martino, then I'm pretty certain you'll enjoy this too. It's certainly not in the class of other exploitation monster films: Devil Fish, Last Shark etc. But a good effort all the same.
Also, The location of the film is set on a costly looking island, somewhere tropical, and no doubt the outlay for the flights, hotels and booze, far exceeded the expense of the film's entire production.
Where to begin. This masterpiece starts off with a photographer(nicely played by Claudio Cassanelli) and his fashion model arriving by helicopter at an island resort - with the remit of taking some promotional pictures for the island. Cassanelli barely has time to adjust to the (lack of) pace, before he is quickly introduced to the resort's owner (Mel Ferrer) and his assistant (Barbara Bach) who whisk him off on a tour of the resort, and we are soon presented with the island's selling point... alligators! Before long, a live animal is being fed whole to the snapping reptiles in the resort's alligator farm - a briskly edited scene; and duly carried out by the resort's alligator wrangler( Romano Puppo). A curt exchange between Cassanelli and Puppo eventuates and we now know where this film is heading. We are then subjected to a few obligatory scenes of Cassanelli taking location snaps with the model which add nothing to the film other than showcasing the actress' inability to strike more than two poses.
Twenty minutes or so later, we finally clap eyes on the 'Great (rubber) Alligator' attacking a boat mercilessly. Luckily for viewers though, the hapless model is the unfortunate passenger and along with a member of the Island's local tribe; both make a reasonable snack for the crocadilian. So much for their passionless liaison on a nearby island. The boat eventually washes up on the shore - with neatly contoured 'teeth marks', leading a suspicious Cassanelli and Bach to spring into action and set about discovering the mystery of the abandoned boat and the perfect teeth marks.
Now the carnage begins...
The film really gathers pace, and we are inundated with boggy, barely visible underwater scenes; unspectacular set-pieces; bit-part actors coming to grizzly ends; poor dialogue; an alligator that's as rigid as the board it's made with, and a cameo from exploitation's favourite pimp/ gym instructor Bobby Rhodes!
Eventually, the film comes to a head; with celebrations aboard a movable raft ala Castellari's "Last Jaws" being torpedoed by the lifeless alligator and left stranded in the middle of a lake; for numerous extras to form an orderly queue and jump off the raft to get picked off at will by the alligator. Exactly what happens to Puppo and Rhodes in the remainder film is a mystery...or maybe I just missed that bit.
I may sound dismissive of this gem, but in actual fact I quite enjoyed it. All the points I have made about this flick in my eyes are good things and If like me, you are a big fan of Italian B-movies and a fan of Sergio Martino, then I'm pretty certain you'll enjoy this too. It's certainly not in the class of other exploitation monster films: Devil Fish, Last Shark etc. But a good effort all the same.
Also, The location of the film is set on a costly looking island, somewhere tropical, and no doubt the outlay for the flights, hotels and booze, far exceeded the expense of the film's entire production.