Eaten Alive AKA DEATH TRAP (1976)
Starring: Neville Brand, Mel Ferrer, Carolyn Jones, Marilyn Burns, Robert Englund
Director: Tobe Hooper
Synopsis: Demented Hotel proprietor keeps his pet Alligator well fed with diet of local lunatics
Reviewed by: Omar Khan

According to the blurb on the cover of the Disc, this movie is "long considered the "lost Tobe Hooper film"….its not wonder it got lost, the director probably deliberately "lost" it to try to salvage his career in light of his being offered Poltergeist at around the same time.

A telling sign of the "quality" of the film is that it is known by several different names….."Deathtrap", "Brutes and Savages", "Horror Hotel", "Horror Hotel Massacre", "Legend of the Bayou", "Murder on the Bayou" and "Starlight Slaughter". This is a cheap tactic employed by the producers and distributors of the film to try and sell a dud by dressing it up in different names. Almost all films that are known by more than two names are usually as a result of the producers trying desperately to sell their dud product by hook or by crook……or by deception.

Actually having said that, the film is strangely involving and almost surreal with its weird red and green lighting, super cheap sets and bizarre acting. Neville Brand stars as the proprietor of The Starlight Hotel……a place that makes The Bates Motel look like a swank, happening 5 star affair. This place looks as though it is just about to collapse and disappear into the murky swamp that surrounds it. Everything about the place is decrepit including the owner, but somehow or the other, this particular night, it seems the whole world is dropping in on this decayed shack. The only thing that looks in fine fettle in the hotel is the magnificent specimen of reptilian beast that resides in the adjacent marsh……supposedly Judd the proprietors pet alligator that does a damn good impersonation of a wooden plank throughout the movie.

There is the sprightly young pooch "Snoopy" who is snapped up as a tasty appetiser by the murderous pet reptile in the bog. All sorts of low life potential victims follow, including the hapless Marilyn Burns who just barely and miraculously survived the Texas Chainsaw Massacre only to find herself being tied and bound once again at the hands of an equally demented host. Burns just carries on screaming just where she left off at the end of Massacre.

Carolyn Jones (immortalized as Morticia from the Addams Family TV show) makes quite an impression as Aunt Hattie despite having a very short role and there is a decidedly sleazy performance by Robert Englund about a decade before he stormed the world as Freddy Krueger in the Elm Street movies. The film tries hard to recreate the same ambiance as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and succeeds to quite an extent. It exudes grittiness and rawness like Massacre did but the huge difference lies in that Texas Chainsaw was truly terrifying, this comes across like a bit of a parody - not a bad one at that. It ends up working best as a very black comedy where one can "admire" the wonderful specimens on display, including the reptilian one. There is plenty of violence and gore, but so OTT that it ends up looking quite comical rather than scary. The music also tries to evoke memories of Massacre with its odd electronic bleeps and blips interspersed with some weird use of the cymbals as well as an array of the worst kind of country drivel.

Neville Brand does a great job as Judd, the lunatic hotel proprietor with his pet alligator. He plays his role to the hilt and comes across as another leftover from the murderous Texas Chainsaw Clan. It's a pretty dreadful movie, but has a certain undeniable charm of its own that will appeal to purveyors of z grade, cinema. It also contains a performance of such twisted, demented charm by Neville Brand, one that deserves recognition within the realms of horror cinema and a plot that is so truly bizarre that it deserves a certain amount of credit. This weird little z grader has the power to grow on one.....and we have ended up having a startling number of repeat viewings!

N.B. It turns out that the events of this movie are based on fact. The film is about a redneck motel owner named Joe Ball who used to feed his patrons to his pet crocodile!