Alligator (1980) & Alligator II: The Mutation (1991) | The creature features snap back in 4K UHD and Blu-ray from 101 Films

Creature feature fans rejoice as 101 Films releases the B-movie masterpiece Alligator (1980) and its lesser-known sequel Alligator II: The Mutation (1991) in a 4-disc limited edition featuring both the theatrical and TV cuts of Alligator plus a host of interviews with the casts and crews and a collector’s booklet.

Alligator (1980) 
Twelve years after being flushed down a toilet, a pet alligator has mutated into a ravenous 36-foot monster, having fed on the discarded remains of animals used in illegal experiments for a new growth formula sponsored by slimy tycoon Slade (Dean Jagger), and is now residing in the Chicago sewers.

When it starts devouring sewer workers, troubled police detective David Madison (Robert Forster), who has a reputation for getting his partners killed, is assigned the case, and sure enough, his new rookie partner Kelly (Perry Lang) becomes alligator food. And when an annoying tabloid news reporter (Bart Braverman) also gets the bite, a city-wide hunt ensues, with Madison calling on herpetologist Marisa Kendall (Robin Riker) for advice and then falling in love with her. 

Meanwhile, a pompous big-game hunter, Colonel Brock (Henry Silva), is determined to claim another trophy – but he too gets munched on. So, it looks like it is up to Maidson and Marisa to head into the sewers and face the creature on their own…

Alligator is the grand-daddy of all killer Croc films and one of the standout pictures from the post-1970s creature feature boom. Inspired by the ‘big bug’ movies of Bert I Gordon, Jaws and Piranha, it cleverly fuses sly humour with sheer fun and exciting thrills – thanks to John Sayles’ intelligent screenplay and Lewis Teague’s cracking direction. In fact, this film helped kickstart his career, which has included Cujo (1983) and The Jewel of the Nile (1985). 

Robert Forster shines here at the self-deprecating charmer, and the inclusion of jokes about his real-life hair transplant gives his detective Madison warmth and authenticity. As the Richard Dreyfuss scientist character, Robin Riker makes for a feisty heroine, and Henry Silva is a hoot at the big game hunter, especially when he’s trying to hit on a news reporter by mimicking alligator mating calls. And the giant poo scene is hilarious!

My favourite scenes are the kid getting the chomp while walking the plank during a game of pirates at a birthday party and the alligator gatecrashing Slade’s garden wedding party and devouring the guests! 

Special Features:
• Theatrical cut (4K & Blu-ray)
• Alternate TV cut (Blu-ray)
• Everybody In the Pool – An interview with actress Robin Riker (who reveals she and Forster are stoned in the coffee shop scene)
• Wild In the Streets – An interview with director Lewis Teague
• It Walks Among Us – An interview with screenwriter John Sayles
• Luck of the Gator – An interview with special makeup effects artist Robert Short
• Gator Guts, The Great River, and Bob – An Interview with Bryan Cranston (This is a real coup, and I loved Bryan’s memories, especially his meeting with ‘Bob’ Forster)
• Additional scenes from the TV version
• Teaser Trailer
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots

Alligator II: The Mutation (1990)
Sleazeball tycoon Vincent Brown (Steve Railsback) plans a lakeside party to launch his new property development and has Regent Park mayor (Bill Dailey) in his pocket. But his secret dumping of toxic waste from Future Chemicals into the city sewers has mutated a rogue alligator that starts feasting on local fishermen. As local Detective David Hodges (Joseph Bologna) investigates, with the help of his herpetologist wife Christine (Dee Wallace), rookie cop Rich Harmon (Woody Brown) and the Mayor’s daughter Sheri (Holly Gagnier), Brown calls in professional alligator hunter ‘Hawk’ Hawkins (Richard Lynch) and his team to track down and kill the gator. But none have counted on its size and strength, and all hell breaks loose at the party.

Producer Brandon Chase was hoping to strike gold a second time with this 1990 sequel – but it’s a pale imitation and treads too closely to the original story to set it apart. Alligator‘s director Teague and writer Sayles also declined to participate, and their absence shows big time.

As the investigating cop, Bologna is no match for Forster’s charismatic everyman, and his beige attire is a real eyesore, while Railsback makes for a weedy, unconvincing villain. Dee Wallace, however, brings spunk and intelligence to the proceedings, and Richard Lynch steals every scene he is in. Playing his brother is Kane Hodder (minus Jason’s hockey mask), and it was great to see Bill Dailey (of I Dream of Jeannie and The Bob Newhart Show fame) playing it straight for a change. But for me, the weakest part of this sequel is the climactic park scenes – it is so sluggishly executed that it’s quite laughable.

Special Features
• From the Echo Lake Lagoon – An interview with director Jon Hess
• Dead In the Water – An interview with special effects coordinator John Eggett
• Cutting with Teeth – An interview with editor Marshall Harvey
• Becoming the Hunted – An interview with actor Kane Hodder (This is a real highlight, especially how Kane and Richard Lynch bonded over their shared burns trauma)
• Blood Brothers – An interview with second unit director Eugene Hess
• Theatrical trailer