The Great Alligator (1979) [Severin 4K UHD Review]

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If you were around in the late ’70s and early ’80s, you remember it as the golden age of creature features. Hollywood was cranking out eco-horror flicks faster than tourists were being chewed up by fake monsters. Jaws kicked things off, Piranha kept the waters bloody, and Orca did its best to make killer whales terrifying.

Somewhere in that mix, Italy threw its hat into the ring with The Great Alligator (Il fiume del grande caimano). Directed by Sergio Martino, this 1979 Italian monstrosity offers a Eurotrash take on the formula that delivers campy fun, a thinly veiled critique of colonialism, and plenty of low-budget charm. Severin Films has seen fit to bring this cult oddity into the modern age with a 4K UHD restoration, giving The Great Alligator more clarity than it probably ever deserved.

Let’s not kid ourselves. Is The Great Alligator a lost gem of the eco-horror genre? No. But that’s part of the charm. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a late ’70s Italian exploitation flick: cheesy acting, rubbery special effects, and a plot that straddles the line between preachy and absurd. Still, with Severin’s new 4K release, it’s never looked better. If you’re here for the giant, fake alligator, or maybe you’ve got a thing for cringey colonialism critiques, then this release delivers on all fronts.

So grab your floaties and let’s wade through The Great Alligator’s murky waters—where the local tribes are angry, the tourists are doomed, and a giant reptile god named Kruna is here to make sure nobody leaves alive.

Colonialism Meets Crocodile Tears

In typical monster movie fashion, The Great Alligator sets the scene in an exotic, unnamed jungle location (spoiler: it’s Sri Lanka). A greedy developer named Joshua (Mel Ferrer) decides to open a luxury resort called Paradise House on sacred land. Like every other clueless white guy in these films, Joshua brushes off the local tribe’s warnings about an ancient river god, Kruna, who’s supposedly lurking beneath the water, waiting to take revenge on anyone who dares disturb the peace.

Enter photographer Daniel Nessel (Claudio Cassinelli), who’s been hired to capture all the glossy promo shots for the resort’s grand opening. Along for the ride is Barbara (Barbara Bach), the resort’s PR director and your standard 1970s damsel in distress. Together, they try to make Paradise House look like a peaceful escape, while ignoring the angry locals and the lurking monster beneath the surface.

Naturally, the tribe knows what’s up. They warn the dumb tourists that Kruna, the massive alligator-god, is about to wake up and start chomping through anyone who steps foot in the river. But Joshua, being the brilliant capitalist he is, brushes it off. The resort must go on, after all! Cue the carnage. As the movie progresses, Kruna shows up to start devouring tourists left and right, while Daniel and Barbara try to escape the escalating madness.

Look, you can guess where this is going. The plot moves forward in a pretty predictable fashion. Daniel and Barbara do their best to survive, Joshua sticks to his “nothing’s wrong here” schtick until it’s too late, and Kruna gets his fill of screaming tourists. But the charm of The Great Alligator isn’t in the complexity of its plot—it’s in how gleefully it embraces its B-movie status. The melodrama is turned up to 11, and the special effects… well, we’ll get into that in a minute.

Cardboard Cutouts with European Accents

If you’re expecting deep character development, you’re watching the wrong movie. The Great Alligator delivers the bare minimum in terms of characterization, sticking closely to the archetypes we’ve seen a million times before in creature features.

• Claudio Cassinelli as Daniel Nessel
  Cassinelli’s Daniel is your classic B-movie hero: rugged, stoic, and not too skeptical to ignore a giant reptile-god when he sees one. He’s basically there to give the audience someone to root for. There’s no real depth to his character, but Cassinelli’s got enough presence to make you forget about that. He handles the mayhem like a pro, even if his emotional range is about as limited as the rubber alligator puppet he’s up against.
• Barbara Bach as Barbara
  Barbara Bach is fresh off The Spy Who Loved Me, and it’s obvious she’s just here to play the scared-but-gorgeous sidekick to Cassinelli’s hero. She screams on cue, looks terrified when the plot demands it, and does her best to survive the carnage. To be fair, she’s a magnetic presence on-screen, even if the script does her no favors. She’s there to be eye candy, but at least she makes it look good.
• Mel Ferrer as Joshua
  Ferrer plays Joshua, the resort’s greedy, shortsighted owner. He’s the walking embodiment of colonial arrogance. Nothing says “I deserve to die by alligator” quite like refusing to acknowledge a sacred river god is about to ruin your investment. Ferrer leans into the role, bringing a level of sleazy confidence that makes you root for his eventual demise.
• The Kuma Tribe
  Here’s where things get a bit dicey. Like a lot of exploitation films from this era, The Great Alligator doesn’t exactly portray its indigenous characters with much nuance. The Kuma tribe is mostly there to serve as a plot device—the mystical natives who warn the white tourists about the dangers they’re too arrogant to see. It’s not great, but it’s par for the course in these types of films. Unfortunately, the movie leans into the “vengeful savage” trope, which undercuts any meaningful critique of colonialism it tries to make.

Themes: Eco-Horror and Colonial Critique (Kind of)

Beneath all the carnage, The Great Alligator does try to say something. It’s an eco-horror film at its core—nature taking its revenge on greedy humans who think they can exploit the environment without consequences. The alligator isn’t just some random predator; Kruna is an ancient god, the embodiment of nature’s wrath. The resort represents Western exploitation, turning sacred land into a tourist trap, while the alligator serves as the mythological punishment for such hubris.

But the movie’s attempt to critique colonialism is a mixed bag. On one hand, Joshua’s character is clearly a stand-in for Western colonizers who dismiss indigenous culture in favor of profit. But on the other hand, the film reinforces a lot of the same stereotypes it’s supposedly condemning. The Kuma tribe is presented as either mystical or violent, playing into the same tropes we’ve seen time and again in exploitation cinema. So while the movie’s message might be well-intentioned, it stumbles in its execution.

Of course, most people aren’t popping in The Great Alligator for a nuanced take on colonialism. They’re here for the alligator attacks, and on that front, the movie delivers. Sure, the effects are laughable, and the plot is riddled with clichés, but that’s part of the charm. It’s campy, it’s silly, and it’s an undeniable product of its time.

Severin Films 4K UHD: Making the Rubber Monster Shine

So, how does this 4K UHD release stack up? For a movie that’s spent most of its life in the VHS bargain bin, Severin Films has done a remarkable job restoring The Great Alligator. The picture quality is surprisingly crisp, bringing out details that probably weren’t even visible in the original prints. Whether that’s a good thing or not depends on how much you like seeing the seams in your giant alligator puppet.

• Visuals
  The 4K transfer breathes new life into the film’s jungle setting. The lush greenery of the Sri Lankan landscapes pops in a way that VHS could never capture. The river scenes, where Kruna lurks, are sharper, making the night attacks clearer and the water-based action more intense. But with this new clarity comes the downside: the practical effects don’t hold up as well under the scrutiny of high definition. Kruna, in all its rubbery glory, looks faker than ever. But for fans of low-budget creature features, this only adds to the charm. Seeing the janky, oversized alligator in such detail is half the fun.
• Audio
  Severin also delivers a solid audio upgrade with a DTS-HD Master Audio track. Stelvio Cipriani’s score, with its mix of sweeping orchestral sounds and eerie tension-building moments, shines through in this release. The dialogue, cheesy as it is, comes through crisp and clear. If you’re here for the full eco-horror experience, this audio mix does a great job of immersing you in the jungle ambiance.

Special Features for The Great Alligator

Severin Films knows their audience, and they’ve packed this release with a solid set of special features that any fan of Italian exploitation cinema will love.

• Interviews and Featurettes
  There’s a new interview with director Sergio Martino, where he reflects on his career and the challenges of making The Great Alligator. For fans of Italian exploitation, Martino’s stories about shooting in Sri Lanka and wrangling the low-budget effects are worth the price of admission alone. Barbara Bach also gets a featurette, reminiscing about her role in the film and her experiences on set.
• Audio Commentary
  The audio commentary from genre historians is another highlight. They dive deep into the eco-horror genre and the Italian exploitation boom of the ’70s, offering plenty of context for The Great Alligator’s place in the genre. If you’re interested in how the film fits into the broader picture of Italian cinema at the time, this commentary is a must-listen.
• Behind-the-Scenes Footage
  Rounding out the special features are some behind-the-scenes footage. Watching the crew wrestle with the alligator puppet and navigate the challenges of shooting in the jungle adds an extra layer of appreciation for the scrappy production.

Alligator Fun in 4K Form

The Great Alligator isn’t a masterpiece. It’s a goofy, low-budget eco-horror movie that knows exactly what it is and embraces the absurdity. Sure, the plot is full of clichés, and the special effects haven’t aged well. But that’s part of what makes it so endearing. This is the kind of movie you throw on with friends, crack a few jokes, and enjoy for what it is: a relic of a bygone era of cheesy creature features.

Severin Films’ 4K UHD release gives The Great Alligator the upgrade it deserves. The restoration is sharp, the audio is solid, and the special features are packed with cult cinema goodness. If you’re a fan of Italian exploitation or just in the mood for a rubbery monster flick, this release is worth checking out.

So, cue up The Great Alligator, sit back, and enjoy the ride. Kruna’s hungry, and he’s coming for you—rubber teeth and all.

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