Killer Crocodile


Pamela: "What's happened to us?"
Kevin: "We've changed. Maybe for the worst, but that crocodile has to die."


release year: 1989
genre: giant monster action/adventure
viewing setting: home streaming 12/17/23

synopsis: In the middle of some jungle somewhere, radioactive waste has caused a crocodile to grow in size and appetite.

impressions:  This was from 1989 but could have been made a decade earlier - it just had that look. It also had some similarities to Jaws as far as its attacks and music. Overall, though, it was fairly entertaining. Some highlights included: early attack scenes...hippies (they're supposed to be environmentalists or students or perhaps both, but I'm just going to call them hippies like I did for the whole movie)...the waste isn't just toxic, it's radioactive!...which allows a scene with someone in a full hazmat suit and armed with a Geiger counter to wnder around in the water...the line "We're not equipped to handle radioactive waste. I saw we stay here tonight."...both the little dog and its owner being Barrys...the other hippies just sailing away after learning the one girl was missing...an abject lesson in why you never stand on the edge of the boat...the hippies being really fired up about the waste dumping...the reappearance of Conchita, minus some limbs...the crocodile attacking a dock...the villagers springing into action...a real, physical monster as opposed to CGI...the crocodile is bulletproof...and the hippies are all whiny about the one girl's death but seem to forget that they left without looking for her...the crocodile pushes the boat out into the swamp and then sinks it...the hippies continue to make poor decisions...and then continue to expect to get bailed out of trouble...a leech...a guy with a spear, riding the crocodile down into the water...the shotgun didn't work on the crocodile before, so why the hell would it work now?...a boat propellor used as a hurled weapon...which somehow causes the crocodile's head to explode?!?

acting:  Just as a fun aside, I've decided to present the cast of characters in a different and perhaps more humorous way:
Kevin aka Kev (Anthony Crenna) - the leader of the hippies, resembles Barry Gibb; becomes tougher and more serious as the movie progresses
Mark (Julian Hampton) - the photographer, resembles Maurice Gibb; kind of a whiner and also stupid, gets others killed
Bob (John Harper) - the other hippie, doesn't do as much; knocked overboard due to Mark's stupidity, and is eaten
Pamela (Sherrie Rose) - the main hippie woman, most notable for falling into the river and then later arguing against killing the crocodile despite its continued killing of humans
Jennifer (Ann Douglas) - the fifth hippie, a chick who really complains a lot about the environment and the pollution; after the first twenty minutes, she basically goes silent
Joe (Thomas Moore) - the tough old hunter, who resembles Lee Van Cleef; not easy to kill
the Judge (Van Johnson) - some old guy in a position of power in the local fvillage; makes a lot of excuses and ultimately talks a little too much for his own good
Foley (Wohrman Williams) - the evil industrialist who's responsible for dumling radioactive waste into the swamp; resembes a fusion of Gary Busey and Neil McDonough
Conchita - a local chick who's helping guide the hippies and their boat; she wanders away after the dog and meets the same fate
Candy (the dog) - senses something in the swamp and wanders away to investigate, which doesn't end well as Candy becomes...candy for the crocodile
the giant crocodile - presumably is the way it is due to eating (or swimming in) the radioactive waste? at any rate, it's a pretty decent mechanical monster, no CGI here

body count: 9 confirmed, plus a dog

final word: Entertaining, though fairly bad.

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