A pound doesn't buy a lot these days, so when I saw a brand spanking new copy of Tobe Hooper's Crocodile on DVD for precisely that amount, I figured there must be worse ways to waste a quid and 'snapped' it up.
And while I don't exactly regret buying the film (I am, after all, a total horror addict, and will watch virtually any rubbish in order to satisfy my cravings), on reflection, a pound does seem a little steep.
With its monster-movie-by-numbers plot (killer croc on the loose), one dimensional characters (assorted jocks and bimbos, a tough cop and an experienced hunter), and clichéd delivery, I realise that this film was never intended to be anything other than a bit of low-budget B-movie monster fun, but even with my expectations set low, I found Crocodile to be rather disappointing.
Usually, even when at his most uninspired, Hooper is capable of delivering an occasional moment of dark humour, the odd creepy scene or convincingly nasty bit of gore, but with this lacklustre effort, he merely goes through the motions. The result is an instantly forgettable giant-killer-animal-on-the-loose straight-to-DVD clunker of the type found clogging up the bottom shelves at your local Blockbuster (the kind that sport such inventive titles as Octopus, Python, Spiders, and.... well ...Crocodile, I suppose).
I'm not sure what the budget was on this production, but judging by the effects on display, I'm guessing it was mega-low. The titular monster is portrayed via an unconvincing mix of full-size models and laughable bargain basement CGI, whilst the sparse gore, by the usually reliable KNB FX group, definitely looks like it was knocked up on the cheap. Hell, the budget doesn't even stretch far enough to convince the babes to get their norks outexactly what kind of B-movie is this, Mr. Hooper? If you can't give us decent gore, at least give us gratuitous nudity.
To be fair, the film doesn't drag, and there is a certain amount of fun to be had from this flick's general cheesiness, but one can't help but wonder how the man who gave the world Leatherface could sink this low.
The last time Hooper dabbled with killer reptiles, he gave us Eaten Alive, which I gave a reasonable 6/10. With this second attempt at a croc-shocker, he gets 3.5 (generously rounded up to 4 for IMDb). If I were Tobe, I wouldn't try again. I'll probably end up having to give a 1... and I really don't want to have to do that!!!
And while I don't exactly regret buying the film (I am, after all, a total horror addict, and will watch virtually any rubbish in order to satisfy my cravings), on reflection, a pound does seem a little steep.
With its monster-movie-by-numbers plot (killer croc on the loose), one dimensional characters (assorted jocks and bimbos, a tough cop and an experienced hunter), and clichéd delivery, I realise that this film was never intended to be anything other than a bit of low-budget B-movie monster fun, but even with my expectations set low, I found Crocodile to be rather disappointing.
Usually, even when at his most uninspired, Hooper is capable of delivering an occasional moment of dark humour, the odd creepy scene or convincingly nasty bit of gore, but with this lacklustre effort, he merely goes through the motions. The result is an instantly forgettable giant-killer-animal-on-the-loose straight-to-DVD clunker of the type found clogging up the bottom shelves at your local Blockbuster (the kind that sport such inventive titles as Octopus, Python, Spiders, and.... well ...Crocodile, I suppose).
I'm not sure what the budget was on this production, but judging by the effects on display, I'm guessing it was mega-low. The titular monster is portrayed via an unconvincing mix of full-size models and laughable bargain basement CGI, whilst the sparse gore, by the usually reliable KNB FX group, definitely looks like it was knocked up on the cheap. Hell, the budget doesn't even stretch far enough to convince the babes to get their norks outexactly what kind of B-movie is this, Mr. Hooper? If you can't give us decent gore, at least give us gratuitous nudity.
To be fair, the film doesn't drag, and there is a certain amount of fun to be had from this flick's general cheesiness, but one can't help but wonder how the man who gave the world Leatherface could sink this low.
The last time Hooper dabbled with killer reptiles, he gave us Eaten Alive, which I gave a reasonable 6/10. With this second attempt at a croc-shocker, he gets 3.5 (generously rounded up to 4 for IMDb). If I were Tobe, I wouldn't try again. I'll probably end up having to give a 1... and I really don't want to have to do that!!!