Lost DTV Horror Gem From “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” Director is Now Streaming on Prime Video
Tobe Hooper was one of the greats. If you haven’t read it yet, allow me to recommend Poltergeist by Jacob Trussell from DieDieBooks for some profound (and heartbreaking) insights into Hooper’s late career. Fans will know that after Poltergeist, Hooper’s career stagnated. Sure, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 was released a year later, but his final decades were strictly direct-to-video stuff, and it’s a shame for one of the pioneers of the modern horror genre. Prime Video is here for the rescue.
Sure, some of that direct-to-video fluff has its fans, especially 2004’s Toolbox Murders remake, but Hooper’s late filmography is largely a far cry from where he first started. Still, even working with smaller budgets and fewer resources, Hooper’s distinct, Southern Gothicism comes through, especially in what’s arguably his best late-career output. The film is now streaming on Prime Video, too. If you’re a fan of Jaws, allow me to recommend Hooper’s Crocodile.
Per Prime Video: A group of friends goes out on a boat trip on a lake in Southern California – but their joyful weekend turns into horror when a giant killer crocodile, searching for its stolen eggs, picks off anyone who gets in its way. Can they all escape in one piece or will they slowly and painfully fall to the mammoth reptile?
Yes, Crocodile is exactly what it sounds like. This is direct-to-video fluff featuring hot women and chiseled men being picked off by a giant crocodile. For me, that’s the dream, but for others, it might be a hard sell. Well, it helps that it’s helmed by Hooper, whose staging of the many crocodile attacks far exceeds the film’s modest origins. The CG behemoth won’t win any fans in full, but rest assured, most of the attacks are of the practical variety, with a giant, mechanical croc head chowing down on wayward coeds.
While it reeks of Syfy channel original, Crocodile is so much more than that. It’s earnestly funny, stylishly shot, and has a scale that belies its low budget. Sure, it’s no Eaten Alive, another killer croc flick helmed by Hooper, but it’s the closest he came in his late career to capturing the inimitable essence that first made him a star. Do it for Hooper. Stream Crocodile on Prime Video now.
What do you think? Do you have any plans to check out Crocodile? What’s your favorite Tobe Hooper film? Let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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