Eaten Alive (1976)

A psychotic redneck, who owns a dilapidated hotel in rural East Texas, 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.

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

Alvin L. Fast, Mohammed Rustam (as Mardi Rustam)

Stars:

Neville Brand, Mel Ferrer, Carolyn Jones

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Judd runs the Starlight Hotel out in some sort of swampy place and is unfortunately a few slices short of a loaf. He has a crocodile conveniently placed on the other side of the hotel's front porch railing. The croc will eat just about anything, as the hapless guests of the hotel find out soon enough. A reformed hooker, an unlucky family, and the father and sister of the hooker all suffer various rates of attrition as Judd tries to implement damage control.

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Plot Keywords:

b movie | serial killer | brothel madam | sheriff | prostitute | 

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Taglines:

Welcome to Starlight Hotel. Your room is reserved...Check in...But never check out! ("Starlight Slaughter" release)

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 May 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Brutes and Savages

Filming Locations:

Raleigh Studios - 5300 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$520,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mars Productions Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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, of which Joe Ball was suspected, but it was never proven that the flesh found in the pit was human. However, Joe Ball committed suicide at his bar on September 24, 1938, when he was about to be arrested by the police in connection with the murders.

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Goofs

Right at the end of the film when the crocodile pulls Judd under the water head first, look to the left of the screen to see a scuba diver under the water who turns is clearly moving. He is obviously a safety stuntman of some sort. You can clearly see his hand and is dressed in black.

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Quotes

Buck: Name's Buck... and I'm rarin' to fuck.

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Alternate Versions

The film received notoriety in the UK after being withdrawn as a member of the infamous DPP List of video nasties. For its original UK cinema release in 1978 cuts were made to the scythe murders, the beating of Faye by Judd (as her daughter watches) and flashback images to the earlier sex scene between Buck and Clara. For the 1992 video release the film was cut by 25 secs and retained the cuts to the scythe murders and the beating of Faye, plus additional cuts to the rake murder of Clara by Judd. In 2000 the film was passed completely uncut by the BBFC.

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Connections

Featured in Here Comes the Devil (2012)

User Reviews

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.