“A man-eating turbo-gator from Hell” is on the loose in this cheapjack Roger Corman production, which makes dialogue references to the earlier DINO CROC (2005) and gets its biggest shock from the presence of a nearly unrecognisable, old-looking Kelly McGillis as the scientist who created a “super gator” with serrated teeth by recreating an extinct prehistoric species. All to “study the effects of genetic evolution” in case you’re wondering why. Though our main thought in looking at her is “Jeez, was TOP GUN really only two decades ago?!”.
On a pretty island in Hawaii, volcanologist Brad Johnson (don’t get him started on the – cliché alert! – Bad Accident that happened last year) and a hot ex-student (BUFFY’s Bianca Lawson), who’s writing an article on the psychology of volcanologists (!) are in the area to, um, study the volcano. Also on the island are several attractive, skimpily dressed young women who provide cleavage rather than nudity and exist to run around screaming before being chomped on. A pair of environmental science majors on holiday last for a while, and two brain-dead bikini models have their photo shoot ruined when the super-gator gores their photographer. One of them survives and the movie repeatedly, comically cuts back to her in the first half, revealing that she’s still running around aimlessly.
With its predictably low-rent sub-video game CG gator and CG gore, this flick is rubbish but, in its defense, likeable rubbish. It reaches some kind of inane peak early on with the following exchange between the two models (neither can act but, hey!, they have tits!). The scene takes place after they’re been attacked for the first time by the ‘gator.
Model One : (picking up pathetically small branch) “Hey, this’ll do!”
Model Two : “His jaw was way bigger than that, we’re gonna need a bigger branch!”
SUPERGATOR has a satisfyingly high body count, with McGillis being the most obvious of the slate of victims (“That’s what you get for messin’ round with nature!”). It also takes the opportunity wherever possible to show the same rapid-cut montage of close-up indecipherable flesh/heads/limbs being gorily munched on by a fake alligator head. The full-body CG gator fluctuates wildly in size but at least it has plenty to do, including gate-crashing a party and chewing on tourists in an amusing finale.
Often hilariously slapdash, with an abrupt wrap-up that suggests they ran out of money, this Sci-Fi Channel flick is reasonably diverting when chased with some potent shots and a bag of weed.
-Steven West
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
