(2000)
1
Robert Firsching
Popular horror filmmaker Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist) directed this bloody but disappointing eco-kill picture which bears more than a passing resemblance to his 1976 cult movie Eaten Alive. As in that film, there's a cursed hotel and a large hungry reptile. In this case, it's an Egyptian crocodile imported by a maniac who was trying to raise the spirits of the pharaohs in 1903. The creature is still around Lake Sobek, feasting on a group of attractive but stupid college kids celebrating spring break by doing body shots, throwing up in hats, and accidentally drinking beer bottles full of urine. Perhaps if co-producer Boaz Davidson, who gets credit for the story, had actually written the screenplay and applied some of the charming observations of youth he showed in Lemon Popsicle or The Last American Virgin, the young leads would have been less obnoxious, or at least worth caring about. Aside from the unpleasant characters, the screenplay seems to have its share of suspense and some good shocks, but is compromised by some absolutely terrible special effects by the normally reliable KNB Group. Both the prosthetic effects and the creature are so shoddy as to remove any elements of believability and horror, leaving the audience to spend their time wondering whether the bickering lead couple (Mark McLauchlin, Caitlin Martin) will ever kiss and make up, which should not be the major concern of a horror film. Chris Solari and the quixotically named Sommer Knight co-star.
Crocodile on AllMovie
Crocodile (2000)
