Eaten Alive (1977)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

Alvin L. Fast (writer)
Kim Henkel (writer)

Release Date:

May 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

He's out there and he's got murder on his mind!

Plot:

A psychotic redneck who owns a dilapidated hotel in the backwater swamps of Louisiana kills various people who upset him or his business, and he feeds their bodies to a large crocodile that he keeps as a pet in the swamp beside his hotel.

Plot Keywords:

Swamp | Crocodile | Cult Director | Cult Favorite | Tied To Bed

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Neville Brand	...	Judd
Mel Ferrer	...	Harvey Wood
Carolyn Jones	...	Miss Hattie
Marilyn Burns	...	Faye
William Finley	...	Roy
Stuart Whitman	...	Sheriff Martin
Roberta Collins	...	Clara
Kyle Richards	...	Angie
Robert Englund	...	Buck
Crystin Sinclaire	...	Libby Wood
Janus Blythe	...	Lynette (as Janus Blyth)
Betty Cole	...	Ruby
Sig Sakowicz	...	Deputy Girth
Ronald W. Davis	...	Country Boy
Christine Schneider	...	Waitress

Also Known As:

Brutes and Savages (USA)
Death Trap (UK)
Horror Hotel
Horror Hotel Massacre
Legend of the Bayou
Murder on the Bayou
Slaughter Hotel (USA) (reissue title)
Starlight Slaughter

Runtime:

91 min | UK:87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:16 (orginal rating) | Norway:15 (2007) | Finland:K-18 | New Zealand:R16 | West Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) (cut) | Germany:18 | Italy:VM18 | Australia:R | France:-16 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Raleigh Studios - 5300 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Mars Productions Corporation

Trivia:

Loosely based on the story of Joe Ball (also known as the Bluebeard from South Texas or the Alligator Man) from Elmendorf, Texas, sometime after Prohibition ended. He owned a bar with an alligator pit serving as an entertainment attraction. Several murders of women ensued, but it was never proven that the flesh found in the pit was human. However, Joe did commit suicide upon possibility of capture.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000) (V)

Interesting and bizarre Hooper film.....

Well, if you saw The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and were impressed with director Tobe Hooper, your next move might be to view his second film Eaten Alive. I searched all over for a print and finally was lucky enough to find one and see this somewhat forgotten picture. One reason for its seemingly firm place in the ranks of oblivion is its numerous title changes. Notwithstanding all this I found the film and watched it. The film is interesting, bizarre, unbelievable, and disturbing. The setting is just a trifle too unimaginative to be taken for real as is the central character of Judd (for the most part deftly played by Neville Brand). The plot too seems to be making its viewers accept too much for granted without really giving any knowledge of why Judd is the way he is, etc... Despite these shortcomings, the film has some of the truly most horrific scenes filmed. The scene in which Judd tries in vain to goad a young girl from under his hotel out is sheer terror. Other scenes in which he dispatches some of the hotel guests are equally effective. The film has a lot more going for it than its oblivious nature would suggest. It has fine performances, an eerier setting and score, and the taught, tuned terror Tobe Hooper realized in his first great film.