The Big Picture
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the sewers, two classic creature features are coming to 4K Blu-ray. 101 Films is releasing a set of Alligator (1980) and its sequel, Alligator II: The Mutation.
The set will feature a 4K transfer of Alligator, available in both its theatrical and TV cuts, as well as a Blu-ray restoration of its direct-to-video 1991 sequel, Alligator II: The Mutation. The set will include a number of special features, including interviews with director Lewis Teague, screenwriter John Sayles, cast members Robin Riker and Kane Hodder — and even Bryan Cranston, who worked as a production assistant on the first film, stuffing fake innards into an alligator prop for the film’s explosive climax. It will also feature trailers, teasers, and TV spots, as well as all-new cover art. The set will retail for $43 USD and can be preordered on 101 Films’ website. It will be released on January 29, 2024.
What Happens in ‘Alligator’ and ‘Alligator II’?
One of the many creature-on-the-rampage films that sprung up in the wake of Jaws, Alligator starts when a baby alligator gets flushed down into the sewers. Feeding off lab animals illegally dumped by an unethical corporation, the gator grows to an enormous size and soon begins feeding on the city’s human population. Only a luckless cop (Jackie Brown’s Robert Forster) and a reptile expert (Riker) have any chance of stopping the creature. Written by Sayles, who also wrote the similar Piranha and would go on to write and direct films like Eight Men Out and Lone Star, and directed by Teague, who would burnish his horror bonafides with Cujo and Cat’s Eye, Alligator is a superior monster flick, with a clever script, fun effects work, and a seasoned cast.
Made for $1.75 million USD, the film was a hit, grossing over $6 million. Its belated sequel, Alligator II: The Mutation, takes a more tongue-in-cheek approach as it largely rehashes the plot of the original. It features a number of genre stalwarts in its cast, including Joseph Bologna (Transylvania 6-5000), Dee Wallace (The Howling), Steve Railsback (Lifeforce), Brock Peters (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), and Jason Voorhees himself, Kane Hodder.
Alligators and crocodiles are a staple of monster movies, from the ’50s b-movie chiller The Alligator People to Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre follow-up Eaten Alive, to the ’90s horror comedy Lake Placid. A recent entry in the genre was Alejandre Aja’s Crawl, which was Quentin Tarantino’s favorite movie of 2019.
The Alligator/Alligator II set will be released on January 29, 2024. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates, and watch the classic trailer for Alligator below.
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