Eaten Alive (1976)

Toby Hooper's follow up to his classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) was this atmospherically bizarre horror oddity.

Deep in the swamps, a crazed hotel owner is keeping a monster crocodile in his yard and occasionally feeding offensive people to it!

As with Texas Chainsaw Hooper gives this film lots of spooky atmosphere, but he really puts it into over-drive with Eaten Alive. The story is a bit disturbing and far more gruesome than Texas Chainsaw. The characters that parade through this film range from back-woods yokels to warped weirdos! Hooper gives the whole movie a kind of garish and bleak style that adds all the more to its off-beat weirdness.

The cast is good, Neville Brand makes for an especially convincing madman. Horror fans will see lots of familiar faces in the cast - Marilyn Burns (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), William Finley (Sisters), Robert Englund (Elm Street movies), Janus Blythe (The Hills Have Eyes), and young Kyle Richards (Halloween).

While Eaten Alive doesn't reach the nightmarish heights of some of Hoopers other films, it is a good B horror picture. For those looking for a twisted horror film it will more than suffice!

*** out of ****

Fmovies: I always thought that Tobe Hooper got lucky with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and never did anything great after that, with the exception of Poltergeist though, most people would argue that Spielberg was the true director of that one. This movie isn't up there with those two but it still is a great entry from Hooper. I was genuinely creeped out at times and i really enjoyed it the whole way through.

This is Robert Englund's first horror picture and he does a great job. The other actors were good with a couple exceptions. The story was good, and I really like the idea of it. The direction is also good but some of the editing seems a little iffy. All in all, I think this deserves to go down in horror history.

Check this one out if you're a horror/exploitation fan and you shouldn't be disappointed. It took me by surprise.

In Tobe Hooper's follow-up to THE Texas CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, Neville Brand is totally out of control! I could not believe my eyes seeing his twitching, nervous, maniacal, laughing psycho performance! He seems to be on some kind of high-powered drug from outer space! Thankfully, his acting is perfectly welcome in this film, where almost every bizarre character seems to be up to something devious.

Neville runs a secluded Louisiana hotel on the Bayou where various people show up. He kills them off (with a scythe, pitchfork, etc.) and feeds their dead bodies to his pet crocodile. Marilyn Burns, William Finley and their daughter eventually show up in disguise and are tormented by Brand. Family members and cops show up to search for missing prostitute Roberta Collins and become victims, too.

Brand hacks them up while hopping around uncontrollably and laughing with glee. Totally creepy. So is Wayne Bell's music score, which is similar to the one he did for TCM. Good make-up, lots of surprises, Hooper's direction and Brand give this film an edge over it's competition.

Eaten Alive fmovies. This is my favorite Toby Hooper movie.It feels almost like a live theater experience with all the colorful stage lighting. Or something out of a Halloween haunted house stage craft. A most wonderful style for a horror movie in my opinion. The atmosphere is dank and swampy with old time country music (Is that George Jones I hear?) mixed with moments of erratic synth music and not to mention the out of tune ramblings of a crazy man. If you're into "Campy" movies, I recommend this as something a little more edgy than your typical slasher flick. For a truly unique experience watch this movie when stranded in a small town in a dumpy motel. One of my favorite horror movies. I give it 5 bags of popcorn with extra butter!

"Eaten Alive"(1976),director Tobe Hooper's second and less successful stab at backwoods horror following the success/notoriety of his brilliant "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre"(1974)is one of the most bizarre horror movies ever made.The plot revolves around demented motel owner Judd(Neville Brand)who likes feeding his guests to his pet alligator in the swamp outside.With its gory set-pieces and gratuitous nudity,and Neville Brand's over-the-top performance as Judd "Eaten Alive" is a truly visceral experience.Great location sets:the dilapidated hotel at the edge of the swamp is so bizarre,that it may as well exist on another planet,or in some alternate insane reality.The acting is very good,Marilyn Burns once again proves that she can emote hysterically and Robert Englund is really convincing as a local-yokel Buck.The film is grainy,even ugly looking at times,so don't expect any polished crap from Hollywood.For me this the best(along with his debut of course!)Tobe Hooper's horror film.A must see for horror fans!

Eaten Alive (1977) is one of the most overlooked and under-appreciated films. Maybe the critics and fans were disenchanted with it because they were probably expecting a film in the vein of first film Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE. In many retrospects the films are similar. They both feature dying, old ways of life (privately owned slaughter houses, roadside motels with sideshow exhibits). The film's main character is Judd, the proprietor of the Starlight Hotel and Zoo. Judd is a crazed war vet with broken dreams who's haunted by ghosts from the past. Neville Brand portrays Judd with such an eerie, uncanny flair (his experiences as a decorated WWII vet gives his role an aura of authenticity). A true slice of dying Americana as only Tobe Hooper can tell.

The support players are William Finley, Marylin Burns, Stuart Whitman, Mel Ferrer, Robert Englund and an unrecognizable Carolyn Jones (TV's Morticia

Addams). This film has been restored for DVD by Elite. Beware of the cheaper DVDs because they are truly ghastly.

Strongly recommended