Alligator II: The Mutation

1st watched 10/27/2000 - 4 out of 10 (Dir-Jon Hess): Rehash of 'Jaws' story not done near as well with of course an alligator instead of a shark. The performers try to keep it credible but it doesn't work. The alligator doesn't scare us and the story is too typical of this genre.

This serviceable follow-up to the original ALLIGATOR has absolutely nothing to do with that movie – other than featuring an alligator living in the sewers of a US city. I actually found this a fun, tongue-in-cheek little monster movie that works around the low budget to deliver a pacy, entertaining film with a strong script to recommend it. It's closer to PIRANHA than JAWS in tone, with the usual stock characters showing up: the rookie cop, the greedy property developer, the ignorant mayor and the dedicated law enforcer on the tail of the beast (literally in this case).

The worst thing about the film is the alligator itself. It's a combination of stock footage from the original film and an absolutely rubbishy pair of rubber jaws pushed at the intended victims. The poor FX and distant lack of bloodshed make the various attack sequences a real let-down, but that's okay because what happens when the alligator isn't on-screen is more interesting than it is.

The clichéd characters are brought to life by a wonderful ensemble cast of familiar faces. Joseph Bologna is well cast as the likable cop doing his best to catch the best; I also liked Woody Brown as the young, inexperienced, square-jawed hero. Dee Wallace Stone (THE HOWLING) finds herself wasted as the cop's wife with nothing to do, but the stunning Holly Gagnier has more fun playing the mayor's daughter. The scene chewing is left to a pair of dedicated B-movie veterans.

First up is Steve Railsback (TURKEY SHOOT), excellent as the utterly repulsive villain of the piece; second we have Richard Lynch playing one of those half-crazed redneck hunter types. Other familiar faces include Brock Peters as the black chief of police, Jason Voorhees himself, Kane Hodder, as an alligator hunter and Voyo Goric (a Russian villain in RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART 2) as a henchman. This isn't a great film by any means, but I found it a more than entertaining effort considering the budget.

A giant, aquatic creature is swimming through the water, attacking and rendering unsuspecting human prey. Meanwhile, a cop tries to find the beast, while attempting to convince a greedy, spineless Mayor to cancel an upcoming celebration. Does this sound familiar? Well, it should. It's the plot of JAWS. In ALLIGATOR II: THE MUTATION, this obvious lift is just the beginning of the absurd fun. There's a slimy real estate magnate played by Steve Railsback, Joseph Bologna as the cop, and Dee Wallace as his beautiful scientist wife. Later, Richard Lynch arrives as the Quint-like alligator hunter.

It seems that someone has been pumping toxic waste into the waterways, causing the creation of the titular terror. Alas, there's a ton of meaningless exposition, including a budding romance, and a veteran cop / rookie cop "buddy film" that takes up far too much of the film's running time. However, if your taste tends toward the cheeeze-tacular, then this farcical fondue should satisfy. Mr. Lynch and his hillbilly crew are particularly rib-tickling!

On the upside, there are loads of sewer sequences, a very typically-Hollywood street gang, and a truly explosive finale. Yep, just like in that aforementioned shark movie...

At the end of Alligator (1980) we see another gator flushed down the toilet and therefore a sequel is teased. 11yrs later the world got one and it's a bit of a mess.

Essentially the same movie, just with a weaker cast and somehow someway worse creature effects! Another oversized gator appears to lay waste to the city and it takes one renegade maverick cop to take it on.

This time it's been enhanced by chemical waste dumped into the sewers yet this doesn't seem to have changed the gator at all. If that is the excuse as to why it's so big then why does it appear smaller than the one in the first movie?

Poor creature feature and a miserable excuse for a sequel.

The Good:

Not so much

The Bad:

Creature effects, how 11yrs later can they be worse?

No consistency in gator size again

Terrible ending

On No! A toxic chemical dumped into the sewer system by the evil Steve Railsback's evil company, causes a mutant Alligator to threaten a carnival. The local police lead by Joseph Bologna want to shut down the carnival until they can deal with the gigantic annoyance. Railsback on the other hand needs the carnival to help promote his land grab. Obviously "Alligator 2" is not willing to take any chances beyond the obvious "Jaws" formula. What to do? What to do? The answer? Call in an Alligator expert to eliminate the Gator. Enter Richard Lynch along with his Bayou brothers. The blonde enemy of all Gators, fits nicely into the role of a grizzled Alligator hunter. Most definitely Lynch is the best thing "Alligator 2" has going for it, with Railsback a close second. The Alligator doesn't even finish in the top ten, but you already knew that. - MERK