Eaten Alive (1976)

Director: Tobe Hooper

Writers: Alvin L. Fast, Mohammed Rustam, Kim Henkel

Composers: Wayne Bell, Tobe Hooper

Starring: Neville Brand, Mel Ferrer, Carolyn Jones, Marilyn Burns, William Finley, Stuart Whitman, Roberta Collins, Kyle Richards, Robert Englund, Crystin Sinclaire, Janus Blythe

More info: IMDb

Tagline: He's out there and he's got murder on his mind!

Plot: A psychotic redneck, who owns a dilapidated hotel in rural East Texas, kills various people who upset him or his business, and he feeds their bodies to a large crocodile that he keeps as a pet in the swamp beside his hotel.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I hate to do this but if you're looking forward to seeing some killer alligator action then you're barking up the wrong tree.  You barely get a glimpse of it and most of that is in the final minute.  Seriously.  What you get in stead is some weird backwoods mo-fos kidnapping and terrorizing.  Neville Brand does fine as the main baddie.  It's the kind of role that ten years earlier would've most certainly gone to Lon Chaney Jr..  I wouldn't say this is a minor classic but it does deserve a look if only for Tobe Hooper completists and for fans of the plethora of once-bigger stars such as Carolyn Jones, Stuart Whitman, Mel Ferrer (I've never seen him so bad as he is in this film) and an early role for Robert Englund.  There's a little nudity (yay) and a little gore (goody) but don't expect anything on the level of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974) from a couple of years earlier.  A couple of things that bothered me were the obvious sets.  The entire picture is shot on a sound stage and the red light outside the cabin makes it even more obvious as it lights up the surroundings.  I'm glad I watched it but it's not necessary to see it again.