Crocodile (1979) [Synapse Films] 

Currently available from Synapse Films on Blu and DVD.

Following the killing of his wife and daughter, a man goes on the warpath to find and kill the giant killer crocodile responsible.  

From director Sompote Sands, Crocodile is a dated take on the giant croc and nature run amuck genre, but a charming one in how it works with the effects it has, showing the croc only partially and using a clear rubber “monster”. The writing and direction here to the most out of what they have on hand and their limitations. The story is a bit predictable, but there is plenty of carnage to make up for the easily guessed twists and turns. The characters here are thin in some cases, but the leads are better fleshed out and make the story one that is interesting to watch unfold. 

The cast here is led by Nard Poowanai who does rather well with his character of Dr. Tony Akom, the aggrieved husband and father. His work here makes the film, giving it a person to come back to after the croc mayhem sequences. He’s a good strong base for the story and makes the most of it. The rest of the cast is sadly a bit interchangeable, made to be crocodile fodder, expected to die horribly in a bloody watery mess. There are a bunch of a bunch of people in here, so many victims, most of them nameless and almost faceless, like they didn’t matter before they got attacked. It’s not terribly surprising and honestly as expected for the giant murderous animal subgenre.  

The film here looks surprisingly good with a few spots showing its age more than others. Yes, it does show that it is over 40 years old, but the transfer on this new release is solid and looks great. The film is not afraid to show blood and death, but the special effects are dated and clearly not on the highest budget at the time, still they work. The look of the film overall is dated, but it works, it adds charm even.  

This new re-release here is a good one in terms of packaging, image transfer, and sound. The extras are, while not exactly numerous, good and well-done. The audio commentary by Lee Gambin is informative and entertaining, same with the interview with Won-se Lee, director of Crocodile Fangs. The deleted scenes and alternate scenes are a nice touch on something of this age as they often get lost in the time space movie continuum. The release also includes the original theatrical trailer, which is a bit of a given these days.