Customer Reviews

Eaten Alive

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

First off: Elite's widescreen DVD is terrific - this is the best this film is ever going to look. This semi-disappointing follow-up to Texas Chainsaw Massacre involves a lunatic who kills guests and feeds their bodies to a crocodile that lives in the next door swamp. Things are off to a slow start at the beginning (you get a lot of sleazy decor) but once Hooper cranks up the action to ram speed there are enough ladies screaming, prostitutes running, lords-a-leaping, maids-a-milking - you get the idea. The only problem is the hotel set. It looks like a cheap set. In the chase scenes, there is no camera movement - everyone just runs around in circles in one wide shot. The crocodile is not the most realistic thing ever (the victims can be seen forcing themselves into its mouth). Yet, the performances are good and the whole affair is actually very disturbing. On that note, I recommend you check into this "Horror Hotel" for a little "Starlight Slaughter" if you know what I mean.

now this is the real "TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE PART 2" I mean this flick is just flat out great!!!!! I love it!! Weather people want to admit it or not this flick has alot of the same quality atmosphere that (T.C.M.)has. The psycho in this flick is a psycho!!! He reminds u of all three sick-os in (T.C.M.)"leatherface" "weasley little brother" & "the cook" all rolled up in one nuttt cake of a dude & in my opinion thats where 75% of the creeeepy sick-o atmosphere comes from. The other 25% is split between the gator & the isolated setting. This is TOBE HOOPER'S ultimate underrated movie & I truley believe that this movie would have been recieved much better by the public & critics if it wasn't for the massive sucsess of "TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE" & also if it wasn't released so soon after (T.C.M.) there might have been some breathing room for it to blossom on its own. Anyway I think this belongs in every true fanz horror collection with out a doubt!! So get it! Later on fellow horror fanz!!! E!!!N!!!J!!!O!!!Y!!!

Eaten Alive is a fun and twisted low-budget horror that fans of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre will enjoy. Three of the original cast and crew take part in this movie, and as you watch, you will often be reminded of TCM. The soundtrack to this film is very similar to TCM, but still original.

There is a fair amount of unnecessary dialogue and adding crocidiles to this storyline seems a bit gimmicky, besides, they look really fake. Expect a small amount of really well done gore effects.

The story here isn't really about the crocodiles at all, it's about the creepy motel manager. He is really strange, but not nearly as creepy as some of the characters in Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Overall Eaten Alive is a better than average horror flick that verges on being really creepy! 3 1/2 STARS

Chainsaw is the perfect horror movie, and although this is no chainsaw, it is definitley the work of the same man. This is about as good a terror film can be without being TCM. The film is never boring, the villian is ultra creepy (think drayton sawyer from TCM running a hotel), and the cinematography is perfect. I'm not exactly sure what everyones problem is with the music, it seems to fit seamlessly. Well I'm sorry folks, I just gotta say i like this one. The gator effects however do leave a little to be desired.

Having done mostly TV prior to Eaten Alive Neville Brand stands out as a psychotic redneck who owns a dilapidated hotel in the backwater swamps of Louisiana. He kills people and feeds their bodies to a large pet crocodile he keeps in the swamp beside his estableshment. Also of note is a very young Robert Englund as Buck the local punk. although not even close to Tobe Hoopers Texas Chainsaw Massacre it does have bad acting, gratuitous nudity, and a splattering of gore to make it viewable as a friday night B-movie. . FYI This is ranked against other B-movies. To rank it against Hollywood blockbusters puts it at about 2 stars.

Ok. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" was great. "The Funhouse" was just okay. But to say "Eaten Alive" is even worth 90 minutes of your time is stretching it. The story is...well let's just say there is no story. And the killer, well, wouldn't even frighten a five year old. The sets look fake, the costumes are cheesy, and the music stinks. Needless to say, "Eaten Alive" is probably one of the worst films I have ever seen. The only reason I gave it two stars is because there are a few pretty decent chase scenes that can keep your attention for a while and get your mind off how horrible the film really is.

This movie rocks! OK, maybe it's not the best written, best-set movie in the world, but if you approach this movie without those expectations, it's actually pretty good. What do I mean, exactly? First of all, the chick who played Morticia in "The Addams Family" series AND Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger to the ignorant) both find themselves in it. Isn't it kinda true that you see the REAL actor when you catch them in a movie they'd never have you see? Plus, people are too quick to bash the writing. I'll say this, you can tell that Tobe Hooper had his hand in this because it defintely has its disturbing parts. As you might expect, they don't involve the rubber alligator; the creepiest scene in my opinion is the initial dialogue between the family staying in the Starlight Hotel. What a sick, all-too-plausible character the husband is! The wife asks him, "Do you just want to feed us to the alligator? (in a lower voice) Is that what you want?" The husband replies by making a "chomping" motion with his hands over and over, and all you want is for the alligator to eventually get him. And the hotel owner is a wonderfully awful Southern parallel to some of TCM's peripheral characters. There's good stuff in here! This movie is definitely worth seeing once. I've stated my case.

No this isn't near as good as The Chainsaw Massacre and nothing Tobe Hooper has done has been, BUT just see this to see NEVILLE BRAND! The man was an underrated actor who plays his underplayed role just right!
This IS a lost classic that deserves to be watched and appreciated for the low budget obviously stretched and all the great "B" actors contained within. IGNORE the idiots who whine about this and that and pop up the popcorn and enjoy a drive-in secind run feature that is more enjoyable now than ever! Can't wait to see the new materials used!!!!

Warning: This is NOT THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE! Nope, EATEN ALIVE isn't TCM, nor is it supposed to be. This movie has elements not found in Tobe Hooper's first film offering. EATEN ALIVE contains actual blood, nudity, and is more exploitative than TCM. It also has a far less serious approach. Judd (Neville Brand) is a self-righteous, homicidal maniac who sees himself as judge, jury, and executioner of those he convicts of being unclean / sinful. The guilty are slain, either by scythe or Judd's handy pet alligator (or both)! Judd also has a serious problem w/ his temper. He just cannot control it! This all leads to multiple murder, and some entertaining, gruesome moments. The Starlight hotel becomes a funhouse / slaughterhouse when some of the guests get uppity and Judd has his hands full trying to contain them. Marilyn Burns (TCM) does her usual screaming, squirming, and running. Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger himself!) is annoying, yet good as Buck. Carolyn Jones (House Of Wax, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, "The Addams Family") is the crusty old madame, Hattie. Stuart Whitman plays the sheriff. Mel Ferrer is the ill-fated dad of the first victim. All things considered, EATEN ALIVE is a fun movie that never takes itself seriously. Enjoy...

I'm a fan of Tobe Hooper, but for some reason or another, I had never heard of this film until recently, so I bought it without watching it first. But to be honest with you, I wasn't expected much from this film. Usually, if a film is good, you have AT LEAST heard of it, and for myself being a big horror fan and not even hearing about this film before, I didn't think this movie wouldn't have that much to offer. And in many ways, I suppose I was right, but in some strange way, I ending up enjoying this film. The basic story isn't all bad. A crazy owner of the run-down Starlight Hotel terrorizes guests and feeds them to his pet Crocodile. Yeah, this story is very loosely based on the legend of a man who allegedly killed women and fed them to his pet Crocodiles in his backyard. (He did in fact kill at least 2 women, and did own crocodiles, but in all probability, this story of feeding humans to crocs is not true.) As far as acting, I feel its the highlight of the film. Veteran actor Neville Brand does a superb job as the crazy hotel owner, Judd. With his signature raspy, (and in this case, creepy) voice, his off-kilter mannerisms, and his incoherent ramblings to himself, this makes for one great character!! This film also includes the excellent Marilyn Burns, the sole survivor from Hooper's previous masterpiece, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a then very young, pre-Freddy, Robert Englund as the sex-crazed Buck, Kyle Richards (remembered as little Lindsey from the first Halloween film), Carolyn Jones, better known as the Addams family's Morticia. The only acting complaint I have is with the husband, played by William Finley. I have no idea what the writers were trying to get across with him. At first, he seems normal, then the character has some kind of mental episode in the hotel room, while Marilyn Burns' characters seems pretty much unaffected by it. The plot didn't bother to explain the reasoning behind this crazed outburst, and his performance just didn't seem to make any sense whatsoever. Anyway, another thing that I enjoyed was the music. In most cases, music being played throughout scenes bug me to no end. But for some reason or another, I actually thought it helped the film. I also got a kick out of some the lyrics to the songs being played...funny stuff! So I'm willing to bet with this film, either you'll enjoy the music or you'll hate it! Moving on, I feel what hurt this movie the most of that it was filmed on a soundstage, and not at actual locations. You can spot this from the first time you see the Hotel. The sets and the lighting throughout the film just seemed too fake to me. The way the film was shot does have the Texas Chainsaw feel to it, but by filming on a soundstage, it failed to capture much atmosphere or mood needed in films like these. I didn't particularly like the special effects done in the film either. The crocodile was used very sparingly, and you don't get to really see it a lot, which is just as well, because it looks pretty fake when you do get a glimpse of it. This 2-disc DVD special edition includes commentary by select cast members, oddly enough not Hooper nor Burns, a look back at the film with Tobe Hooper, interviews with Robert Englund and Marilyn Burns, a featurette about the legend of Joe Ball (where the idea of the film came from), and even stills of comment cards filled out by audience members after watching the movie in theaters. In the end, what you're left with is a decent B-horror flick with some weak plot points. There is definitely room for improvement, however, I don't know why I like this movie as much as I do. Maybe I'm just nostalgic, or maybe I'm a bit biased cause I'm a fan of Hooper, Burns, and Englund. If you're just a causal fan of the genre, you may want to pass on this one, but if you're a die hard horror fan, you should add this one to your collection as I did.