bellino-angelo2014
After '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' Tobe Hooper was later regarded as one of the best directors in the horror genre in the 1970s. And ''Eaten Alive'', while it's not bad as his rating would suggest, it's worth watching.Neville Brand stars as Jud, a psychopath motel owner in the rural south, and owns an alligator as pet. The problems are: Jud has murderous impulses, and feeds his victims to his alligator! Its thrilling scenes succedd to hold your attention till the end.While panned by critics, ''Eaten Alive'' was better staged than many horrors of those years. The landscapes are nice to look at, and I personally liked the bluish fog and the surroundings of the motel. And it has a great cast for a horror: Western star Stuart Whitman as the Sheriff, an after-Morticia Carolyn Jones as a brothel owner, Mel Ferrer as the father of a dead girl who is then killed by the croc, and future horror star Robert Englund as a sex pervert.By the way, I liked it not that much, but it's still an unusual horror from the 1970s recommended especially to fans to the genre. 6 stars out of 10.
trashgang
Made after the classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) by Tobe Hooper, a weird director. starting with a cult classic and from there on declining into mediocre to worse flicks. Strange as it can be but this one do deliver some creepy moments. It's done by the use of red light and the country music being played on the background at the hotel were the croc lives in a pit. The story is loosely based on real events (Joe Ball) but that's all. It also features well known thespians from that era and the coming of rising star Robert Englund. It's a bit outdated as you see it now because it's slowly build although Neville Brand (Judd) do gives a great performance and it contains nudity it's low on gore. Just made before the great slasher era (1978) it shows. If you just look at Halloween (1978) were no blood is used that one did work on the horror due the atmosphere and The Shape itself. Clearly to see being shot in a studio the effects are a bit laughable too. The croc is easy to spot it isn't a real thing, the wire used toward the end is easy to see when Angie (Kyle Richards) is hanging over the water, and the last minutes a scuba diver can be spot in the pit.But one of the better efforts of Tobe, as I said, due being slow it's hard to watch it until the end without pushing the fast forward. Gore 0/5 Nudity 1/5 Effects 1/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5
poe426
There are drive-in memories I sometimes wish I DIDN'T have; seeing EATEN ALIVE happens to be one of them. Director Tobe Hooper has a way of getting under your skin- whether it be with a chainsaw or a scythe or a crocodile-, but that's not necessarily a Good thing. I've seen movies that made me so nauseous I came THIS close to losing my lunch- and a few of them turn out to have been directed by Hooper. He's clearly demonstrated considerable talent over the years (THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE, 'SALEM'S LOT, LIFEFORCE, etc.), but he's also shown a penchant for less-than-salutary fare, like THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE II and EATEN ALIVE. The most memorable scene in EATEN ALIVE: the opening scene, where Robert Englund, unbuckling his belt, announces, "My name's Buck an' I wanna f---..."
sunznc
Watching Eaten Alive threw my mind back to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974. I kept waiting for Leatherface to emerge, squealing like a pig. The film has the same gritty, grimy feel to it drenched in atmosphere with fog, strange lighting, shots of the moon and piercing, haunting music.The fact that Marilyn Burns is in this film and tied up and screaming and pleading for her life is disorienting. And Neville's performance as the insane hotel keeper is very reminiscent of the older brother from Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He even wears the same type of clothing.I do like this film. At times I myself felt very on edge because of the performances. Several people in the film seem like they themselves were on edge and it plays off well. The story is simple; the insane hotel keeper has a giant Alligator from Africa in a large pond and he throws people into it to get rid of them. Why? Because he is psychotic. The problem with the film is the script, the dialog. The acting isn't always great either. But I can't dismiss it as a cheesy 70's horror film. It is effective, it is interesting. It does have that Tobe Hooper stamp on it. I would say horror fans will probably enjoy it but it'll never become the cult TCM became.
AD
