A sun belt buckle is pulled off.Menacing astrology. “My name is Buck.And I’m here to Fuck!”Robert Englund’s menacing opening line in Tobe Hooper’s other great authentically nightmarish film, Eaten Alive, from his The Texas Chain Saw Massacre days. It has the same brutal, repressed, pitch black vibe. Nightmares within nightmares.
“Why don’t you get on your knees for old Buck?He wants to try something new.” Sodomy in the ‘70s.Geesh. “No don’t tell me.I ain’t gunna do that!” replies a wigged, buxom anal-virgin hooker having second thoughts, young in her profession. “Yes, you are!” replies Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street series), a.k.a. Buck, tries to pull off her panties from behind as the virgin hooker fights him off. “Get back here. I am just getting what I paid for.” He continues. “Miss Hattie! Miss Hattie!” she says in desperation.
Miss Hattie is the madame of the whore house and boy is she a sight.She’s a large, intimidating masculine build, with the mannerisms and voice of Paula Poundstone,with kaki pants, turquoise puce man’s dog-eared, collared shirt, a brown Donny Osmond wig with a green plastic dealer’s visor with a Tales from the Crypt grey puddy face with a pastel yellow, green, and white scarf-tie, and Betty Davis eyelashes with scars that look like wrinkles. It’s all a mightily bizarre combination that is arresting. Ancient Fun Fact: Miss. Hattie is played by the ultra way back hottie Carolyn Jones, who was the original Morticia Addams, family matriarch (I recommend a creepy Google search, I’m sure she won’t mind now — or then from the looks of it!)
Miss Hattie is on Buck’s side here. The customer’s always right after all! And she offers Buck two of her finest ladies and tells this hooker who won’t put out to ‘get’!
The black maid, Ruby, consoles her: “some girls ain’t cut out for this” and gives her a few bucks and tells her bout a little motel along the bayou.
Little Missy, Faye, the innocent hooker, reaches the Starlight Hotel through the fog and night and hanging willow trees. Now menacing astronomy too! Planets and stars are just evil to Tobe Hooper.
Approaching beside the motel is a large cage connected to a bog and a crocodile ‘hisses’ loudly.The gate is keeping the beast at bay. A shadow appears behind the front door with a flare on the light above. The door opens.
A country singing plays from within. Faye enters and rings the bell and Norman Bates, I mean, the manager of the motel appears. He’s a strange looking fella, with reinforced rim protector at the bridge of the nose and super nerdy style. He has a safari kaki shirt with large front pockets, a face that’s a cross between General Ackbar, the hair of an emo Cruella Deville, and the smile of James Remar.
The hooker has her bosoms out and she’s looking for a room. The Hotel Manager, Old Judd, played by Neville Brand, Killdozer (1974), Crocodile (2000), hands her a pencil to sign-in.He takes her hand and moves it to where she should sign, as he stands in the dark. No light in the reception area.
They pass the open front door.He explains it’s not a gator.They’re slow on land whereas this is a crocodile out there and it can outrun a horse.He explains how it caught a “n-word mule” and tore it half to shreds.He laughs about the croc telling the hooker how that old croc would eat anything.
Suddenly he snaps and takes off his glasses.“Yeah, you’re one of Ms. Hattie’s girls.”He gets ornery and horny at the same moment.As though all Miss. Hattie’s girls deserve their mistreatment.There is a lot of moral superiority mixed with massive, suppressed sexuality.He’s shaking and sputtering like and approaches her in the hallway next to the bedrooms and starts to tear at her clothes.Out of one nightmare and directly into another for the Hooker with a Change of Heart. Objectification and violence upon not getting what the man secretly always wants.
They tussle and fall down the stairs together, Brand getting the worst of it. She kicks him off and crawls out the front door, but he comes out with a large sharp sickle and mangles her with repeated vicious strikes. The acting here is malicious and conjures a nightmarish realism. The open mouth, the smiling, the enjoyment of unrepressing his sexual side. Neville Brand nails it with his performance! He cuts her to a bloody mess and dumps her body in the water for the Croc to partake in the community flesh while twitching and hardly moving but I suppose we could say she was technically “Eaten Alive” but barely.
Outside the motel, red light, nighttime, fog, early morn rises and a monkey in a cage paws the ground in a hopeless, repetitive glom.A metaphor for the killer’s repressed sexuality.Monkey in a cage indeed! Then there is a female mannequin, smiling acceptingly. Cruel mistress.
Jude takes solace in laughing about Faye’s demise. Power in his pathetic life now achieved.Fantasy fulfilled.
The monkey looks blankly in a blood red, oppressive glow which cuts to the menacing crocodile in the water, splashing about.What a perfect metaphor for this type of killer in a two-animal metaphor.
Noted in his room is a USA flag hanging on the wall and a burnt Nazi flag on his chair.Now in the ‘70s that was only 30 years from WW2 ending.Thus, this isn’t likely a “Falling Down” collectible Nazi memorabilia but more likely a memento from a solider in his family, his dad, or uncle perhaps or himself maybe even.
The monkey plum dies in the cage.The man-eating croc is all that remains.
That is until a little dawgy barks at that same moment from the car of a new occupant family. They are a horrible family but for the charming little daughter and her dog.The mother and father are obviously in a tense, typically abusive 1970s relationship before mass divorce.The type of absolute hellholes of human beings that were rife in society in the ‘70s and ‘80s before they just gave it up in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90s. If you were around back then you’d know the type.Arguing in public, physically, and emotionally wretched with one another in a very dated yet familiar way.
Old Judd is making ‘extra thirsty politeness’ with the husband’s wife until Buck shows up to torment and humiliate him with a youthful punk-ass vigor that I like.Judd hates Buck because he’s free with his sexuality which is everything Judd wants to supress to the point of finding murder more acceptable than sex. This is quite an accurate psychological profile of a serial killer, really, if you think about it. “You get outta here Buck!” Buck responds assuredly, “I’ll be back before long.You can take it to the bank.”Buck relishes in tormenting Judd.
The little girl from the annoying family notices Judd’s monkey is dead in the cage.Just then the plucky dog finds a space in the chicken wire fence under the porch and enters the croc’s domain.The girl reaches thru the fence to retrieve her dog and again it’s a nightmare within a nightmare. The dog is eaten alive in front of the girl as the water splashes everywhere.
Judd urges the family inside. He takes them up to a room “out of harm’s way.” In their room the father is covered in beaded sweat, tense, like he’s going to beat his wife, nervously smiling as if mocking his wife’s frantic nerves.Meanwhile she’s discolored, pock-faced, scarred, neurotically smoking. “Why don’t you just take that cigarette and grind it out on my eye?” The wife smiles, liking the unhinged, unrepressed, manic, abusive humour of their indoor life. The daughter covers her ears, as father bellows for no reason like a maniac. He then starts barking like their dead dog out of guilt, throwing back the guilt he feels for letting the dog die back onto her in vile fashion.
She screams at him to stop it as their daughter covers her ears again at these lunatics she’s bound to. “What do you want me to do?Throw myself to the Alligators?” He starts miming chomping. “Is that what you want me to do?” she repeats. (I just realized the mother here is the surviving girl from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Marilyn Burns).
The father goes down to take care of the offending crocodile — American style.He pulls the shotgun out the trunk. Judd says, “It’s all according to their instincts.No harm was done.”Obviously empathizing with the crocodile over their beloved pet. He baits and shoots, but Judd reaps him in the back with the sickle. But before he can strike the final blow the ol’ croc busts through the fence and chomps down on the father and pulls him into the bog beside the motel and under into the blood red waters.
The daughter and mother are now unaware of being isolated and without their protector. Judd searches himself for the buckshot injury and we discover he’s got a wooden leg. Ah, he is the veteran! He forgives the croc like he’s trying to forgive himself for what he did in war! Ah-ha! Nice freaky psychology here.
The mother calls down to her husband to bring up the luggage.Judd reassures her he’ll be up in a minute. She thinks nothing of it and goes to the shared toilet/shower room. She starts undressing to have a shower.Meanwhile Judd unlocks the door with the little girl to bring in the luggage.
He hears her humming in the shower from behind the door labelled “Toilet.”He stares at the door like it’s reading his dirty mind.He just walks in and starts pulling off the shower curtain and tying her up and smacking her.
The daughter wakes up, sees her mom getting slapped in the back of the head, tied up with the shower curtain.She screams and runs away out into the misty night.Judd chases the girl. Mom unties herself slowly.
Judd grabs the sickle and just runs after the girl.A ruthless pursuit. The girl runs under the balcony.The same balcony that the dog got eaten by the crocodile under.He locks her in the crawlspace.He then goes back upstairs to the mother who is still partially tied.He again resumes the smacking about and general manhandling.
The mother wakes up after a blackout and all four limbs are tied to the bed; prone.
Judd, I think gives a PTSD speech about the enemy not following any regulations. It’s a bit muddled.It’s hard to follow but he’s fucked in the head in any event. The croc starts in after the girl locked in under the porch.
Meanwhile the father of the original failed hooker who was killed and his other hot daughter are searching for her (a little late).They ask the Sherrif where she is at?! He says he’ll take them to check Miss Hattie’s and the Starlight Motel with the croc (the only two places in town apparently!).Beat the clock: Will they make it in time to save the little girl under the porch?!
That croc gives chase under the porch to catch the girl. But the girl is clever and resourceful.
At Hattie’s:Miss Hattie denies having met the daughter despite pimping her earlier that night.
Meanwhile Judd’s trying to snag the girl himself now from under the porch.Just then the Sheriff’s car flashes by.The father of the failed hooker gets out and blithely walks into the motel until the girl under the porch can be heard screaming “Mommy?!” “Who’s there?” he meekly replies. This was really dark psychology here. Tobe is on fire!
The father then wanders outside in the misty night and peaks under the porch not seeing anything and Judd sickles him in slow motion through the neck scaring even Judd until he starts to laugh. The Croc tastes blood and pulls the dying father apart from Judd’s sickle into the water.Man to animal.
Meanwhile Old Buck’s in a redneck bar with a young lady.The Sheriff is about.An effete dude checks out Englund’s idiot hussy.Another random hombre slaps the effete guy around for having that wimp look in his eyes. Then the Sheriff talks down to Buck and Buck punks off some younger guy to look big to his underage hussy date.
Back at Starlight, Judd’s swabbing the decks of blood.The mother is still tied to the bed flailing about and the daughter’s still under the porch… now Buck and his hussy show up to punk off old Judd again. Interesting timing.
Judd tells them to get off his property.They strum through.Buck warns Judd if he doesn’t let him do what he wants he’s likely to “take a stick of dynamite and stick it up that croc’s ass of yours.”Great line.
The Sheriff then tells the other sister of the original hooker to spread the night at the only hotel in town. Lovely.
Buck meanwhile is indeed about to fuck his hussy 17-year-old.
Old Judd’s gotta decide:tied up mother, girl under the porch, Buck mid-fuck?WTD, hmm…what to do?
Buck gets suspicious of a loud radio Judd has turned up and leaves his hussy. He looks out over the broken porch fence where the Croc broke through.Judd approaches from behind.Buck doesn’t take Judd seriously.Judd says, “I gave you the signal.”Seems to be when he’s in psycho mode. Buck just tells him to hush.Judd pushes him in the water.Buck swims to a shabby dock but as advertised is “Eaten Alive.”And the croc is huge.(You thought being burned by angry parents was bad!)
The hussy comes out and Judd instinctually chases after her with his trusty sickle thru the misty forest night.She makes it back to the road and a random stud picks her up in his roadster.(He’s definitely getting lucky tonight!).
Finally, the sister of thehooker arrives at the Starlight Motel.Again, she just goes right inside and upstairs.No reception necessary.A favorite motif of this era of Tobe’s movies. She just sits down on a bed and takes off her white trench coat. Buck-naked underneath (pardon the pun).
Judd opens up the porch with his sickle and hammers the croc with it to anger it into killing the girl underneath.
Naked Sister puts the trench coat back on after hearing noises and unties the mother still on the bed.The two women run downstairs, but Judd comes out with the sickle and chases them immediately back upstairs. Judd slashes the mother’s leg but over-swings and throws himself partially out the window.
The daughter finally escapes the croc under the porch.But instantly she falls backwards, her leg trapped by the fence.Head dangling in front of the Croc.Hooker’s sister tries to bring the girl back upright. Judd shakes the fence violently, hoping the girl plummets into the croc’s mouth.But the mother comes from behind to push Judd over the safety fence and into the danger zone.
The croc drags Judd head-first into the water. The Sheriff arrives. Only Judd’s wooden leg is left floating in the water.
Eaten Alive Uppers:
Eaten Alive is the only other movie to evoke that same vivid, authentic nightmare quality that Tobe Hooper captured in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
I really liked the theatrical lighting, the coloration, the Tales from the Crypt style make-up to denote impressionistic sickening moods and tension and menace. I also like the under use of music, just metallic dissonance and ill-at-ease bashing and scratching of implements.
The croc, for a practical effect at the time was NOT too bad. It was a believable threat, sold as always mostly by the human reaction to it. But the darkness, mist, and interesting-colored lights masked most flaws well and the impression of the girl being chased by the croc under the porch were truly unnerving.
The human menace of Neville Brand’s performance was also on point and captured a truly human monster. And as noted I really liked the grisly psychology of all the characters in this seedy town, as though everyone really deserved their dirty little flesh fates in this one.
Eaten Alive Downers:
The attack with the sickle and croc are a little repetitive after the third or forth (or fifth kill). The sickle, while cool at times, was a bit too predictable by the end. And really, the story itself was overall a bit one-noted and really had me rooting for the crocodile (and maybe Buck here and there), which I don’t think was Tobe’s clear intent.
AKA: Death Trap, Brutes and Savages, Slaughter Hotel, Starlight Slaughter, Horror Hotel, Horror Hotel Massacre, Legend of the Bayou, Murder on the Bayou
Directed by: Tobe Hooper
Written by: Alvin L. Fast, Mardi Rustam, Kim Henkel
Produced by: Mardi Rustam, Alvin L. Fast
Cinematography by: Robert Caramico
Editing by: Michael Brown
Music by: Wayne Bell, Tobe Hooper
Special Effects by: Robert A. Mattey, Ken Speed
Cast: Neville Brand, Mel Ferrer, Carolyn Jones, Marilyn Burns, William Finley, Stuart Whitman, Robert Englund
Year: 1976
Country: USA
Language: English
Colour: Colour
Runtime: 1h 31min
Studio: Mars Productions Corporation
Distributor: Virgo International Pictures, Arrow Video