Why is it so difficult to make a good killer crocodile movie? That's the question I was asking myself when I sat down to watch this Sci-Fi Channel effort although of course I wasn't expecting to discover the answer by watching a TV movie. I was pretty pleased with CROC, though. For sure it's a bad movie, one not worth more than a single watch (if that) but it's sure as hell better than other fare like the ridiculous BLOOD MONKEY. In essence this is a film of two halves and the first half is surprisingly decent for a B-movie. There are some fun scenes, quite a bit of action, diverse characters and sub-plots mixing together that keep it moving along nicely.
Ironically, the second half moves into crocodile hunting territory and its here that things become more mundane and predictable. There are pretty useless scenes of people hunting the croc and getting killed and it feels like everyone stopped trying quite so hard. Things end up in an underwater cavern where there's some unintentional fun to be had from Michael Madsen unloading his automatic rifle at the beast.
Speaking of Madsen, he's advertised in listings as the lead but he's barely in the film. He plays the usual larger-than-life character, complete with metal leg, but it's obvious he's sleepwalking through the role and the unknown leads do a better job. There are lots of attractive Thai actresses in the cast which is good to see, and I spotted David Asavanond (WARRIOR KING's Officer Rick) playing a bar owner.
Shot on location in Thailand, this film offers beautiful scenery so much so that your mind's often on the backdrop rather than the main action. There's a pleasingly high body count and plenty of cheap gore effects like floating severed heads and chomped-off limbs for horror fans to enjoy. The crocodile is a mixture of stock footage, poor CGI and some not-bad model work. Two highlights are the bit where an annoying kid gets munched and a surprise in store for a guy swimming in his pool (even if that scene is inexplicable). Okay, so this film might be pretty bad in terms of quality but it's a damn sight better than your usual TV fare.
Ironically, the second half moves into crocodile hunting territory and its here that things become more mundane and predictable. There are pretty useless scenes of people hunting the croc and getting killed and it feels like everyone stopped trying quite so hard. Things end up in an underwater cavern where there's some unintentional fun to be had from Michael Madsen unloading his automatic rifle at the beast.
Speaking of Madsen, he's advertised in listings as the lead but he's barely in the film. He plays the usual larger-than-life character, complete with metal leg, but it's obvious he's sleepwalking through the role and the unknown leads do a better job. There are lots of attractive Thai actresses in the cast which is good to see, and I spotted David Asavanond (WARRIOR KING's Officer Rick) playing a bar owner.
Shot on location in Thailand, this film offers beautiful scenery so much so that your mind's often on the backdrop rather than the main action. There's a pleasingly high body count and plenty of cheap gore effects like floating severed heads and chomped-off limbs for horror fans to enjoy. The crocodile is a mixture of stock footage, poor CGI and some not-bad model work. Two highlights are the bit where an annoying kid gets munched and a surprise in store for a guy swimming in his pool (even if that scene is inexplicable). Okay, so this film might be pretty bad in terms of quality but it's a damn sight better than your usual TV fare.