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APRIL 14 VHS MOVIE REVIEW : THE GREAT ALLIGATOR (1979)
Land developer Joshua (Mel Ferrer) has created a tourist trap called Paradise House in some tropical jungle and has invited photographer Daniel Nessel (Claudio Cassinelli) and model Sheena (Geneve Hutton) to come and view the new attraction a few days before it officially opens (When Joshua mentions to Sheena that Eve may have been a black woman, the black Sheena replies, "All I know is that Adam was a stupid shit!"). Joshua assigns his personal assistant, Alice (Barbara Bach), to show Daniel around, but when Daniel views members of the local Kuma tribe being used as menial and dangerous labor for Joshua's new resort, he becomes concerned that Joshua is taking advantage of them. Daniel also becomes worried when he spots Joshua's right-hand man, Peter (Romano Puppo), feeding live pigs to the crocodile population, in order to keep them close to Paradise House as a tourist attraction. Sheena is eaten by a giant alligator while making love to a Kuma tribesman on the eve before the resort's grand opening and, as a busload of tourists arrive to stay at the resort, Daniel finds Sheena's canoe with huge bite marks in it and fears she is dead. When Daniel relays his fears to Joshua about a man-eating alligator on the loose, Joshua prefers that Daniel keeps quiet as not to disturb the resort's full house. Daniel and Alice travel down river to the Kuma tribal village, where they review a ritual being performed by the tribe and they're getting pissed off. They are told by a tribe member that the "Great God" (the giant alligator) has been disturbed by the deforestation and blasting done to create Paradise House and are led to the secret hiding place (in a cave behind a waterfall) of crazy Father Jonathan (Richard Johnson), a missionary who fought the giant alligator years earlier and was the only member from his mission who survived. What a giant alligator is doing living with the crocodile population is never explained, but when Daniel and Alice barely make it back to the resort after being attacked by the alligator and report it to Joshua, he has Peter beat Daniel up when he tries to call for help on the radio. That night, the resort's helicopter is mysteriously dragged into the lagoon and someone destroys the radio's antennae just as the alligator begins to chow-down on the tourists and resort staff. When Joshua refuses to cancel the tourist boat ride down the river (called "Tarzan's Raft"!) and the Kuma tribe kidnaps Alice and plan to use her as their next sacrifice to appease the Great God, Daniel has to spring into action to try to save Alice and the boatload of tourists. He manages to save Alice, but when it comes to the tourists, let's just say the natives are as restless as the alligator. This Italian JAWS clone, directed by Sergio Martino (TORSO - 1973; MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD - 1978; SCREAMERS - 1979; AFTER THE FALL OF NEW YORK - 1983; HANDS OF STEEL - 1986) and co-scripted by Luigi Montefiore (aka: George Eastman), holds most of the gore to a minimum until the finale, which shows the tourists fighting for their lives from two sources: The deadly alligator in the water and the Kuma tribe, who have had enough debasement and begin killing the tourists with flaming spears and arrows as soon as they make it to shore. It's the film's best sequence, as the tourists must decide which is the worst death; in the jaws of an alligator or a flaming sharp stick in the gut. Some of the tourists, in their panic, end up impaling themselves on the crocodile fence that surrounds the lagoon. Unfortunately, the rest of the film is fairly routine and bloodless. There's also an annoying subplot where a little girl tourist named Minou (Silvia Collatina) wanders around the resort saying "adorable" things, while her mother and new boyfriend avoid her. Two minutes after listening to her drivel, I was wishing the alligator would make her a snack. Speaking of the alligator, it's kept mainly off-screen or at least clouded by the water, which is a good thing considering what is viewable is not very believable. The scene where the van that Daniel and Alice are in plunges into the lagoon is obviously (bad) model work. The Sri Lanka locations are pretty to look at, though. Also starring Fabrizia Castagnoli, Enzo Fisichella, Bobby Rhodes, Lory Del Santo and Anny Papa. A Gorgon Video Release. Also available on DVD under the title THE BIG ALLIGATOR RIVER from Noshame Entertainment. Not Rated. { text from critcononline.com }
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