Alligator

During a family trip to Florida, the teenage daughter is bought a cute baby alligator – which her father flushes down the toilet on their return to Chicago. Twelve years later, the little reptile has grown into a giant monster: it has been feeding on animal carcasses in the sewage system, which had previously been used in experiments with a growth serum. When body parts start turning up in the sewers, police officer David Madison (Robert Forster) has no idea what to expect... Alligator is a stroke of genius among the animal horror films that emerged after the success of Steven Spielberg's Jaws. Grounded in a police film populated by fabulous character actors, Lewis Teague's crisp production indulges in increasingly wild swings between horror and comedy, relishing the highlights of John Sayles' screenplay: the alligator literally eats its way up through society. (C.H.)