Eaten Alive
Eaten Alive is Tobe Hooper’s follow up movie to Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Well, even though Eaten Alive is directed by Tobe Hooper, and Marilyn Burns is being a scream queen/final girl like before, I don’t think it’s as good as the first movie. Though, I do like some of the weird choices that were used in filming this movie. Oh, and of course it has Robert England!
Photo Credit: Mars Productions Corporation
Released: May 13, 1977
Runtime: 91 mins
Director: Tobe Hooper
Writer: Alvin L. Fast, Mardi Rustam, Kim Henkel
Actors: Neville Brand, Mel Ferrer, Carolyn Jones
PLOT
A crazy redneck, who owns a run down hotel, kills 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 THOUGHTS
There are 7 kills in this movie. (Including a monkey that we really don’t know how it dies. Not sure why it’s even in the movie.) Most of the kills are by Judd (Neville Brand) or in combination of him and his pet crocodile. For those who don’t like it, be warned there is a dog death. The crocodile causes the animal's death. There’s a pitchfork stabbing, as well as a scythe that is used to kill Harvey. Judd has the perfect body disposal…the crocodile! His only issue is that he’s just crazy and people will figure it out.
The acting was good. Neville Brand brought the right kind of crazy. His back and forth with his emotions when he kills someone are interesting. He’s excited and gets off on killing someone, then soon feels (or looks) horrified at what he did. Then quickly throws the bodies to the crocodile so he doesn’t have to see what he did.
I have to mention Marilyn Burns. She plays the prerequisite scream queen and I would call a final girl. She is screaming or moaning through the gag, a lot! But we also see a side of her when she is arguing with her husband (who seems to be losing it). I was quite surprised to see her working with Tobe Hooper again after the horrible nightmare of filming Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Of course I would have to mention Robert England. He plays the local, good old boy jackass that is annoying. And yet, I think he did a great job with what he had. We still get to see Robert England’s charm shine through. Nice seeing a young Robert England pre-Freddy Krueger.
At first we see this blonde, who seems kind of naive (even though she is working in a brothel), escaping her situation and goes to a decrepit hotel run by a creepy old guy. Things are fine at first until he realizes she was a prostitute and attacks her. He stabs her and then we see the crocodile drag her into the water.
Then we see a bickering couple and their daughter show up. They are lost and end up there. We learn quickly that Judd will kill off anyone who annoys him. But he ties Fay (Marilyn Burns) to his bed. We soon get another father and daughter who are looking for the prostitute who died. Judd soon learns there are too many annoying people around.
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For the positives, I like how Hooper uses colors in Eaten Alive. It has a very Dario Argento/Giallo vibes with the colors. It has a grindhouse feel to it. It’s gritty, it’s dirty (yes, we get to see half naked women.), and there is some blood. More than in the Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
For negatives, it is slow in some parts. It’s not the greatest movie, but for the type of movie it is, it’s good. I’m surprised how overlooked this movie is. Especially being directed by Tobe Hooper. And with Marilyn Burns, it’s a great combination. If this is the kind of movie you like, definitely watch it.
And now for your Forever Final Girl Exclusive…Did you know?:
Adapted for the screen by Texas Chainsaw Massacre co-writer Kim Henkel, the plot was very loosely based on the story of Joe Ball (also known as the Bluebeard from South Texas or the Alligator Man) who owned a bar with a live alligator attraction during the 1930s in Elmendorf, Texas. During this time, several murders of women were committed by Ball, and the legend is that he would dispose of his victims' bodies by feeding them to his pet alligators, but it was never proven that the flesh found in the pit was human. However, Joe Ball committed suicide at his bar on September 24, 1938, when he was about to be arrested by the police in connection with the murders.
According to Make-up Artist Craig Reardon, Cinematographer Robert Caramico directed several scenes, due to creative differences between Tobe Hooper and the films' producers.
Filmed entirely on the sound-stages of Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, California, which had a large-scale pool that could double as a swamp. Shooting on a sound stage instead of a practical location contributed to the atmosphere of the film, which director Tobe Hooper described as a "surrealistic, twilight world." However, the film eventually proved to be problematic for the director, who left the set shortly before production ended, due to a dispute with the producers. But Hooper's good relationship with his actors remained intact. The director later recalled how he worked with actor Neville Brand to fully develop the character of Judd, declaring, "He understood what he was doing exactly."
This film has apparently fallen into the public domain. It is included on Emson's "50 Horror Classics" DVD collection. However, during a scene, it switches back to the menu and doesn't include the end of the movie.
Mel Ferrer would go on to appear in another film titled Eaten Alive just four years later.
The fog effects for the swamp scenes were used using dry-ice in the style of earlier Hollywood horror films shot on sound stages.
The Robert Englund character near the beginning of Eaten Alive says the line "My name is Buck, and I'm here to ****". In Kill Bill vol. 1 Actor Michael Bowen's character Buck repeats the exact line before forcing himself on a comatose Bride (Uma Thurman).
Check out my other reviews here: Forever Final Girl
Let’s get into the rankings:
Kills/Blood/Gore: 3/5
Sex/Nudity: 2.5/5
Scare factor: 1.5/5
Enjoyment factor: 4/5
My Rank: 2.75/5
IMDB: 5.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: critics: 3.3/10 audience: 3/10
Letterboxd: 3/5