Eaten Alive (1977)

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

Kim Henkel (screen adaptation) and
Alvin L. Fast (writer)

Release Date:

May 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

He's out there and he's got murder on his mind!

Plot:

A psychotic redneck who owns a dilapidated hotel in the backwater swamps of Louisiana kills various people who upset him or his business, and he feeds their bodies to a large crocodile that he keeps as a pet in the swamp beside his hotel.

Plot Keywords:

Crocodile | Swamp | Sickle | Lifting Person In Air | Cult Director

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Neville Brand	...	Judd
Mel Ferrer	...	Harvey Wood
Carolyn Jones	...	Miss Hattie
Marilyn Burns	...	Faye
William Finley	...	Roy
Stuart Whitman	...	Sheriff Martin
Roberta Collins	...	Clara
Kyle Richards	...	Angie
Robert Englund	...	Buck
Crystin Sinclaire	...	Libby Wood
Janus Blythe	...	Lynette (as Janus Blyth)
Betty Cole	...	Ruby
Sig Sakowicz	...	Deputy Girth
Ronald W. Davis	...	Country Boy
Christine Schneider	...	Waitress

Also Known As:

Brutes and Savages (USA) (alternative title)
Death Trap (UK)
Horror Hotel
Horror Hotel Massacre
Legend of the Bayou
Murder on the Bayou
Slaughter Hotel (USA) (reissue title)
Starlight Slaughter

Runtime:

91 min | UK:87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:16 (orginal rating) | Norway:15 (2007) | Finland:K-18 | New Zealand:R16 | West Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) (cut) | Germany:18 | Italy:VM18 | Australia:R | France:-16 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Raleigh Studios - 5300 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Mars Productions Corporation

Trivia:

According to makeup artist Craig Reardon, cinematographer Robert Caramico directed several scenes due to creative differences between Tobe Hooper and the films' producers.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Dark Side of Porn: Does Snuff Exist? (#2.4)" (2006)

Not up to Texas CHAINSAW standards, but still decent.

In Tobe Hooper's follow-up to THE Texas CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, Neville Brand is totally out of control! I could not believe my eyes seeing his twitching, nervous, maniacal, laughing psycho performance! He seems to be on some kind of high-powered drug from outer space! Thankfully, his acting is perfectly welcome in this film, where almost every bizarre character seems to be up to something devious.

Neville runs a secluded Louisiana hotel on the Bayou where various people show up. He kills them off (with a scythe, pitchfork, etc.) and feeds their dead bodies to his pet crocodile. Marilyn Burns, William Finley and their daughter eventually show up in disguise and are tormented by Brand. Family members and cops show up to search for missing prostitute Roberta Collins and become victims, too.

Brand hacks them up while hopping around uncontrollably and laughing with glee. Totally creepy. So is Wayne Bell's music score, which is similar to the one he did for TCM. Good make-up, lots of surprises, Hooper's direction and Brand give this film an edge over it's competition.