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STUDIO: ANCHOR BAY
MSRP: $16.99
RATED: NR
RUNNING TIME: 87 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• Audio Commentary with Roger Corman and Jay Andrews
• Trailer
The Pitch
David Carradine creates super lizards.
The Humans
Corey Landis, David Carradine
The Nutshell
Giant, mutant lizards terrorize an island.
The Lowdown
Dinocroc vs Supergator is exactly what you might expect from the Syfy channel. With that out of the way, I can safely say that this is a must for anyone who thoroughly enjoys b-movies in all of their cheesiness. Acting as executive producer in Dinocroc vs Supergator, Roger Corman has made a career out of creating monster epics, and this is his latest and most ridiculous. As the title suggests, it’s about two giant lizards who engage in an epic battle–that lasts about three minutes. Unsurprisingly, it clocks in at a whopping 87 minutes and wastes no time getting started. We begin very, very abruptly.
Needless to say, the gun had no real effect, despite the 20 shots she fired.
David Carradine–surprisingly enough–stars as Jason Drake, a rich tycoon who owns Drake Industries. He somehow decides to begin testing on animals, instead of what he was originally funded for, which was research on plant growth. Of course, the monsters break free. All of a sudden, people are screaming and running around hysterically, while huge lizards are bursting through the complex–or, rather, hilariously bad CGI lizards are trashing the complex. Adding to the stellar CGI, the dialogue is entertaining and downright hilarious. I should also mention that there aren’t any real main characters, per say, so we are sort of thrown into a mess. Nevertheless, we are introduced to about six different characters; make no mistake, however, this isn’t some ensemble piece.
One of the funniest, most farcical characters in the film is a mysterious, cliche-ridden person aptly named “The Cajun”. He shows up within five minutes in Hawaii, after being called in Louisiana. Paul Beaumont is the closest thing to a protagonist there is here. He’s on the island investigating Drake, but seems pretty content with having suggestive conversations with a FBI agent “friend of his”, while fishing off a pier. Also, he falls in love with a police officer, in the span of a few awkward conversations. There are other really hilarious scenes, but the dialogue is perhaps even funnier. Apparently, what I learned from the commentary, was that a certain line spoken by one of the characters at the hotel was repeated and laughed at for weeks; he even won an award for it, too. It doesn’t stop there: this being a movie involving giant lizards, there’s the mandatory car chase, which perfectly replicates Jurassic Park in the cheapest way possible.
Good thing there was a conveniently placed bath tub in the middle of a field, or he might not have survived.
Suffice it to say, it’s a pretty awesome movie, perhaps even more so because of the penny budget and non-actors getting in on the action (one of the no-name characters is actually the steadicam operator). All of the characters are hilariously over-the-top and just about all of the lizard attacks are ridiculous. It’s certainly a must-watch for fans of schlock; it’s as cheese-filled as it can be. There are also plenty of arbitrary scenes, and pieces of dialogue that will likely be repeated and repeated for weeks. That’s always a good sign.
The Package
Both the picture and sound quality are well done and very clear. Unfortunately, not much was done with the blu-ray set, only a skimpy commentary and a trailer. In the commentary, Roger Corman is periodically funny, but it’s mostly “how we did this” stuff. It’s just about as bare bones as it can get.
Rating: 
Out of a Possible 5 Stars