Let me get this right out in the open. I thought Crocodile was cool. No, it wasn't great, but I thought it was on par with Lake Placid (that one still has a bit of an edge). However, neither of them can hold up against the far superior "Alligator". But anyways, on with my review...
If you've seen Jaws or any of it's subsequent rip-offs (see above for examples), you've seen Crocodile. The concept is pretty straight forward. Take a (usually) remote setting (in this case the swamps of I think Florida), cast a bunch of "lunch items" (the more photogenic, the better) and come up with a nasty little (or big...bigger is always better) beasty with a creepy back story about it's origin, and yell "action".
In the case of Crocodile, the formula holds up pretty well. Being a direct-to-video film, even one directed by Tobe Hooper, I didn't have a lot of expectations for it as far as story, plot or F/X. but for the most part, however, they worked. The story is simple and straightforward. A bunch of college kids on spring break rent a house boat and are cruising the lakes. Abnormally large croc is on loose and very angry (won't tell you why), and starts chomping down on everybody that gets in its way. I was surprised by the body count in this film. Most of the victims were people I wouldn't have guessed. Some were welcome however, because midway though the film some of the characters began to get annoying. Glad to see that the film makers may have sensed that as well and off'd a few of them. If there was a downfall that ruined it for me, it was that the computer generated effects were poorly done. The croc not only looked obviously fake, but kept changing sizes as well!
Some have criticized the ending, but I thought it was ok. It left a couple of question open, one of which can easily be figured out by thinking it out a little, but in general, I didn't have a problem with it.
I would recommend Crocodile to anybody who asked me. It's not a great movie, but it's not a horrible one either. Tobe Hooper's name does give it a certain value (the cover box makes sure you know who the director is), and I'm glad to see him resurface again.
My grade: B
If you've seen Jaws or any of it's subsequent rip-offs (see above for examples), you've seen Crocodile. The concept is pretty straight forward. Take a (usually) remote setting (in this case the swamps of I think Florida), cast a bunch of "lunch items" (the more photogenic, the better) and come up with a nasty little (or big...bigger is always better) beasty with a creepy back story about it's origin, and yell "action".
In the case of Crocodile, the formula holds up pretty well. Being a direct-to-video film, even one directed by Tobe Hooper, I didn't have a lot of expectations for it as far as story, plot or F/X. but for the most part, however, they worked. The story is simple and straightforward. A bunch of college kids on spring break rent a house boat and are cruising the lakes. Abnormally large croc is on loose and very angry (won't tell you why), and starts chomping down on everybody that gets in its way. I was surprised by the body count in this film. Most of the victims were people I wouldn't have guessed. Some were welcome however, because midway though the film some of the characters began to get annoying. Glad to see that the film makers may have sensed that as well and off'd a few of them. If there was a downfall that ruined it for me, it was that the computer generated effects were poorly done. The croc not only looked obviously fake, but kept changing sizes as well!
Some have criticized the ending, but I thought it was ok. It left a couple of question open, one of which can easily be figured out by thinking it out a little, but in general, I didn't have a problem with it.
I would recommend Crocodile to anybody who asked me. It's not a great movie, but it's not a horrible one either. Tobe Hooper's name does give it a certain value (the cover box makes sure you know who the director is), and I'm glad to see him resurface again.
My grade: B