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Alligator

Alligator

Horror · Science Fiction · Thriller · 1980

A baby alligator is flushed down a toilet and survives by eating discarded lab animals that have been injected with growth hormones. The now gigantic animal escapes the city sewers and goes on a rampage, pursued by a cop and a big-game hunter.

Movie details

Alligator

“It lives 50 feet beneath the city. It's 36 feet long. It weighs 2,000 pounds...And it's about to break out!”

1980 Horror · Science Fiction · Thriller 1h 31m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.0 / 10

Community rating

A baby alligator is flushed down a toilet and survives by eating discarded lab animals that have been injected with growth hormones. The now gigantic animal escapes the city sewers and goes on a rampage, pursued by a cop and a big-game hunter.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Alligator?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Lewis Teague

Written by

John Sayles · Frank Ray Perilli

Robert Forster

Robert Forster

David

Robin Riker

Robin Riker

Marisa

Michael V. Gazzo

Michael V. Gazzo

Chief Clark

Dean Jagger

Dean Jagger

Slade

Sydney Lassick

Sydney Lassick

Gutchel

Jack Carter

Jack Carter

Mayor

Perry Lang

Perry Lang

Kelly

Court is in session

Put Alligator on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.