Jaws‘ release in 1975 spurned a number of killer shark offshoots, but it also effectively ushered in a time of widespread animal destruction with the “animal attack” films of the late ’70s and ’80s. These ranged from bears to dogs to rats to alligators, and on a few occasions, also crocodiles. Thailand’s answer to the Jaws craze was the appropriately-titled Crocodile of 1979/1980, which takes a few of the basic tropes from Spielberg’s film as well as the more overt environmental awareness elements of enlarged/enraged animal attack movies. Director Sompote Sands, perhaps best known for his Japan/Thai co-productions on some Ultraman/Kamen Riders tokusatsu, directs with an inclusion of miniatures, physical props, and other camera tricks to depict the giant angry croc that destroys multiple villages.
The film follows Dr. Tony Akom (Nard Poowanai), who pretty quickly experiences a devastating tragedy after his wife and daughter are killed by a mystery creature in the sea. Eventually through his research Akom reveals that it’s actually a giant crocodile that has grown due to nuclear explosions that also caused a giant hurricane that recently destroyed a different village; and since he’s the one most impacted by the croc, he makes it his sole obsession to hunt and kill the beast before it can harm anyone else. Enter a Captain Quint-style sailor and a reporter who’s just… there for some reason, and you have the basic makings of both a generic animal attack film, and also Crocodile.
There’s nothing too offensive or memorable about Sands’ film, in truth. It’s overall a very generic film in the subgenre, and it hits on pretty much every trope an experienced viewer might be expecting. But what Crocodile does offer is a unique experience thanks to the overall direction of the movie, which often feels strangely surreal in its editing; occasionally vast swaths of story seem excised, with the plot moving forward haphazardly. The pacing is all over the place, too; Sands’ focus on emotional depth often comes with exceptionally sappy montage scenes and overly exaggerated sentimental score.
These moments, while meant to convey the rock bottom Akom has hit, drag the film down hard. Unfortunately too much of Crocodile features not enough crocodile, with only a few scenes containing the bulk of the monster attacks. And while the miniatures and gore effects (and upskirt shots) are fairly well-done, they’re recycled in both village attacks – literally, you’ll see the same extras and deaths twice. The film’s conclusion, too, is wholly similar to Jaws without most of the suspense. For a 90 minute film, Crocodile really drags.
While Thailand’s animal attack offering is commendable in some ways (reprehensible in others, like its real crocodile killing), it’s a difficult recommend due to its roughness. Fans of this subgenre will most likely want to give this one a watch just for completion’s sake, but there are better movies in this category – and even better killer crocodile movies – out there.
Blu-ray
Synapse Films has released Crocodile on Blu-ray with a new restoration from the original English 35mm negative. Crocodile had a number of different versions depending on the country of its release, and here Synapse Films presents the original US cut of the film with its English dubbing. Due to the culled nature of the movie – a lot of its scenes came from the previously filmed Crocodile Fangs – this restoration does show an inconsistency throughout. Various elements were likely used as source material during the film’s editing, and so those disparate qualities are readily seen throughout. Occasional stock footage elements like ducks swimming or underwater sequences show an obvious worn look and scan lines and other damage are present. The shot footage for Crocodile looks a lot better, maintaining a nice consistency of color grading and overall grain composition that clearly sets it apart. Black levels are a bit inky but are serviceable in the film’s nighttime sequences at sea. Overall, Crocodile looks a bit rougher in quality, but that’s to be expected with this Frankensteinian composition.
A DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono English dub is included as the film’s audio component. Despite some problematic dubbing and occasional muffling, the dialogue sounds pretty clear. The musical score, though, does suffer from some warbliness throughout,but it seems like that could be inherent to the score. English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing are also included.
For extras, Synapse gets a new audio commentary from the late Lee Gambin, and this is probably a case of watching with the commentary being a more rewarding experience than watching the movie alone. Gambin details the film’s themes and compares it to the other environmental animal attack films of the era. If I had one qualm, it’s that I wish the commentary dove a little deeper into the film’s composition and differences from Crocodile Fangs, but we’re in luck because Synapse also includes a new interview with Won-se Lee, the director of Crocodile Fangs. This interview goes into detail about the original Korean/Thai co-production, his direction and difficulties shooting that film, and his ignorance of the film’s release internationally under different titles and editing.
Also included is an original theatrical trailer and a number of deleted and alternate scenes which effectively encompass the differing cuts of the film; the international opening, featuring naked women being eaten by the crocodile, is available here. The release also gets reversible cover artwork and if you ordered from Synapse, a limited edition nude slipcover.
Extra Features
- NEW restored from the original English 35mm camera negative
- Original theatrical trailer (1080p, 2:44)
- NEW Audio commentary with writer and film historian Lee Gambin
- NEW Video interview with original Crocodile Fangs director, Won-se Lee (1080p, 31:44)
- Deleted and alternate scenes
- Original Thai Ending (1080p, 2:37)
- The Monkey and the Little Boy (1080p, 4:41)
- Extended Town Attack (1080p, 5:50)
- Crocodile Cruelty (1080p, 1:16)
- Alternate Spanish Release Ending (1080p, 3:32)
- Alternate International Opening (1080p, 4:15)
- NEW “Nude” slipcover (limited to only 1500 units)
Verdict
Crocodile is an uneven film due to its pacing issues and overall editing challenges, but the occasional croc attack does make for an entertaining watch at times. The Synapse Films Blu-ray restores the original US cut of the film with a good transfer, if at times inconsistent due to the culled nature of the film; the extras do make up for the rougher edges.
