There were two types of films that excited you as a kid in the mid-70s. The first were disaster films that showed the chaos and carnage. Every week in Cinemascope you’d could watch the destruction of high rises, luxury liners and even the city of Los Angeles. When they weren’t playing, the theater was filled with the screams of people being devoured by giant animals such as great white sharks, grizzly bears, rats and even killer whales. It was truly a glorious time. A film that dared to bring together the destruction and man-eating frenzy was Crocodile. While the film was made in Thailand during the late ’70s, it didn’t find its way into America until the Fall of 1981.
A hurricane completely destroys a small Pacific Island. In the midst of the wreckage, a crocodile swims away. Although we learn the real cause of the “hurricane” later. Two couples in Bangkok go on a vacation on the coast at a swanky resort. Tony Akom (Nat Puvani) and John Stromm (Min Oo) are both doctors at a hospital so it’s a first-class joint. One nice afternoon, their loved ones go out for a dip in the water while the doctors are on shore. Without any warning, the women and a child are devoured by something under the waves. The doctors are in shock. Both men step down from the hospital duties so they can discover what creature ate their loved ones. One of them sneaks into the morgue to do his own autopsy on the scant remains. He suspects they were attacked by a crocodile. This doesn’t make much sense since the reptiles aren’t saltwater creatures normally. But another batch of swimmers get chomped to prove that whatever is under the water isn’t moving off. The doctors hire a fisherman to help them track the killer croc. They don’t have too many people thinking they’re nuts when the giant croc attacks an outdoor waterside mall. The reptile is humongous. The doctors are going to need a bigger Longtail boat.
What’s amazing about Crocodile is that the couples do the right thing by going to a nice tourist resort. They don’t visit an out of the way beach where the tourists don’t go. The resort isn’t even the culprit with the owner hiding reports of the massive crocodile attacking the guests. This is just a tragic event that unexpectedly happened. The doctors didn’t go cheap on their vacation and still had to pay the ultimate price. This probably means the Thailand tourism board didn’t secretly fund the film.
The last part of the film has a lot of Jaws references as the two doctors and the fisherman take his boat out to see to spot the croc. They even borrow the shot of the boat leaving the harbor framed by the shark mouth except they come up with a more local hole. The big difference in this boat action is instead of open Atlantic Ocean vistas, we’re treated to the scenic coastal Thailand.
The special effects are interesting as they cut between the real locations and models resembling the spots. A live crocodile rampages through the fake places. The model buildings look as good as anything found in a Godzilla movie of this era and as fun to watch get smashed. They also have a fake croc body for swimming scenes that looks rather realistic. There are a few scenes of real crocs not treated properly. Just a simple reminder that the Humane Society did not approve this film.
Crocodile might have come at the end of the cycle for both disaster and animal attacks movies, but it encapsulates what makes both genres exciting. We get to see an island torn apart by a hurricane and the giant crocodile rampage a tourist trap. What makes it even more powerful is that the ending doesn’t completely rip off Jaws. Crocodile proves to be its own beast when the end credits roll.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfer is from the original English 35mm camera negative. This image looks much better than the trailer included. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 2.0 of the original mono English dub. The voice actors don’t sound too cartoony as they chase after the giant crocodile. The film is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary with Lee Gambin, author and film historian, gets into the eco horror movie. He is more into an analysis of the film. He puts the movie in the context of other eco horror movies of the era. You’ll want to track down the other films he references.
Video Interview with original Crocodile Fangs director Won-se Lee (31:44) has him clear up when it was shot. He made it in 1977 and it was promptly censored in 1978. The film was made by studios in South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand. The Koreans provided the director and key crew while Thailand was responsible for cast and other crew. He took 7 months before bringing it back to South Korea. He is a bit taken back discovering that the film was released overseas (such as the USA) with Sompote Sands listed as director and not himself.
Original Theatrical Trailer (2:55) is a red band trailer! They give us a taste of all the destruction before the Crocodile feasts on the cast. Anyone in the theater had to come back to see this nature attack flick.
Deleted and Alternate Scenes includes Original Thai Ending (2:37), The Monkey and the Little Boy (4:41), Extended Town Attack (5:50), Crocodile Cruelty (1:16), Alternate Spanish Release Ending (3:32) and Alternate International Opening (4:15). There’s quite a bit of disturbing animal footage that was cut away.
Synapse Films present Crocodile: Special Edition. Directed by Sompote Sands. Starring Nat Puvanai, Ni Tien, Angela Wells, Kirk Warren & Robert Chan. Running Time: 92 minutes. Rating: Rated R. Release Date: July 9, 2024.
