#34. Alligator (1980)

DVD Synopsis: Twelve years ago, two incidents occurred that bore no similarity until now. The Kendal family decided their pet baby alligator was a nuisance and flushed him down the toilet. At the same time, Slade Laboratories was conducting secret hormonal experiments with dogs and the dead dogs were disposed of in the city sewer. As the baby alligator fed on the dead dogs, its body chemistry took on grotesque mutations. When several brutal murders are discovered, David Madison (Robert Forster) is put on the case. But this is no human psychopath - it is a ravaging animal-turned-monster bent on destroying everything in its wake.

Who’d have thought that flushing a baby alligator down the toilet could lead to such mayhem…and such fun? 

Robert Forster, Michael Gazzo and Henry Silva lead a pretty solid cast, and what Alligator lacks in special effects wizardry (in some scenes, I swear it looks as if the filmmakers took a page from 1950’s Sci-Fi and shot an iguana in makeup walking across a model of a New York Street), it makes up for in fast-paced action. A low-budget horror movie done right, Alligator is a great time.