A violent and bizarre 80s sci-fi thriller about the ultimate battle between humans and predators
Author: Robert Skuch Published
When I was just old enough to form memories that still haunt me today, we found our family’s goldfish belly-up in a bowl and flushed it down the toilet. My biggest fear is that it will come back with a vengeance and flush out of the toilet when I try to use it. As irrational as this sounds, I’m not the only one worried about sewer retaliation. 1980s Crocodile That nightmare becomes reality when its titular antagonist is flushed into the sewers, only to reappear more than a decade later angrier, larger, and ready to stomp and chew through Chicago.
It was warmly welcomed as soon as it was launched. Crocodile Not just a monster movie. It’s a brutal satire about illegal animal growth hormone experiments, a jaded detective’s attempt to rehabilitate his reputation, and the consequences of corporate greed meeting scientific recklessness. Despite a budget of just $1.6 million, it’s a lean, vicious thriller that’s much better than expected.
Royal flush
Crocodile The story begins in 1968, when young Marissa Kendall (Leslie Brown) bought a baby alligator while on vacation in Florida and named it Ramon. After her father refused to keep it, he flushed it down the toilet, unknowingly sending it into Chicago’s sewers. Twelve years later, Raymond reappears as a 36-foot-long monster that feeds on anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path.
The real horror is how he grew so big by eating discarded animal carcasses tossed into the sewers by scientist Arthur Helms (James Ingersoll), whose experiments in promoting livestock growth were funded by corrupt businessman Slade (Dean Jagger). The animals are pumped full of experimental hormones before being dumped underground, providing Ramon with the perfect recipe for rapid mutation and an insatiable appetite.
our reluctant hero and lady marissa
Detective David Madison (Robert Forster) is assigned to investigate a series of mysterious deaths related to the sewers. His reputation is already in shambles after a past case went wrong, but things get worse when his partner Jim Kelly (Perry Lang) becomes Ramone’s next meal. No one believed David’s story about the giant crocodile because no one could find the body. When tabloid reporter Thomas Kemp photographed the creature, Slade stepped in to bury the evidence and had David fire the police to cover up the scandal.
Meanwhile, David meets the adult Dr. Marissa Kendall (Robin Riker), now a herpetologist whose childhood pet has become a walking nightmare. Their reluctant partnership and natural chemistry add fuel to the carnage as they attempt to stop the beast before it turns the city into its own feeding ground.
Low-budget creature effects work surprisingly well
although CrocodileThe monster effects are revealed in daylight, and they’re very effective in Chicago’s murky underbelly, where flashlights cut through the darkness and tension simmers around every corner. The creature design lacks something at times, but the gore more than makes up for it. Limbs are bitten off, blood flows in the streets, and the violence feels like a priority rather than an afterthought.
If the carnage doesn’t draw you in, Robert Forster and Robin Riker’s chemistry will. Their connection is low-key, funny and down-to-earth, especially the one they formed over Foster’s early onset of hair loss.
Crocodile Still a violent, fast-paced, surprisingly smart sci-fi thriller that continues to impress after all these years. Stream it for free on Tubi, but maybe think twice before flushing anything alive down the toilet.
