"Mutant giant alligator runs riot in Chicago” may sound like pure schlock. But wait! There’s a script by future Oscar nominee John Sayles (Lone Star, Eight Men Out); Robert Forster (himself a future nominee for Jackie Brown) as the grizzled cop trying to head off a massacre; and gore effects by Bryan Cranston (yes, that Bryan Cranston). Yes, Alligator remains more than your average creature feature. With L.A. unconvincingly filling in for Chicago, which the filmmakers bafflingly believe is in Missouri, and a script laden with sociological subtext and a whole hair-loss subplot added by Forster, it’s an oddity that fits perfectly in We Luv Video’s monthlong KaiJune series. Come back for The Attack of the Giant Moussaka, Godzilla (the 1998 Hollywood version), The Guyver, and Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. – Richard Whittaker
