After losing his parents under mysterious circumstances, an orphan (Kevin Zegers, of the Air Bud movies) is taken back to the North Carolina island on which they were last seen. Encouraged by a psychologist (willowy Jill Hennessy of Robocop 3, TV's Law & Order and Crossing Jordan) to face his fears, he learns that his parents were devoured by a pack of Komodo dragons still running rampant on the isle. Director Michael Lantieri is a special-effects artist whose credits also include all three Jurassic Park movies, Deep Impact and Mars Attacks!. Billy Burke. Rated PG-13

Alligator (1981)

A gigantic alligator with a voracious appetite terrorizes the unsuspecting (and delicious!) population of Chicago in this tongue-in-cheek thriller directed by killer-animal specialist Lewis Teague (Cat's Eye, Cujo). Scripted by no less than the acclaimed John Sayles (The Howling, writer-director of The Brother from Another Planet, The Secret of Roan Inish and other films), it stars tough-guy great Robert Forster (Medium Cool, Jackie Brown, TV's Karen Sisco).

Alligator 2 (1991)

Two big-city cops join forces with an adventurous Cajun hunter out to track another giant, ravenous alligator in this sequel to the 1980 feature. The cast includes Joseph Bologna (Transylvania 6-5000), Steve Railsback (The Stunt Man, TV's The Visitor) and Dee Wallace Stone (The Howling, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial). Rated PG-13
No relation to Blood Surf (about a giant salt-water crocodile) or Octopus (about a giant radioactive mutant octopus)

The Alligator People (1959)

Lon Chaney was near the end of his career when he made this one. Beverly Garland goes to her runaway husband's family mansion and discovers that he's being transformed into an alligator. But the mad doctor has an excuse - hubby was involved in an automobile accident and says the experimental reptile serum is keeping him alive. Interesting premise, but the costume is simply a green alligator suit with an alligator head that fits so poorly, seams can clearly be seen as well as cloth folds on the body. Cast includes Bruce Bennett, Directed by Rey Del Ruth.
Lon Chaney's excellent personal close-up makeup in this film (seen here as he was just starting to turn into a reptile) was discussed by Joe Bob Briggs and his guest during the "Motel Hell" interview segment on MonsterVision's Acne Night.
No relation to "An Alligator Named Daisy" (1957), a British comedy in which a travelling salesman picks up the wrong alligator suit case - no monsters. This one turns up on classic movie channels.

"Alligator" availability on video and on DVD from Amazon.com

Continue on to Octopus 2 about a giant mutant octopus

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