Best Pictures #124: 2025 (98th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: Sinners

by A.J.

Best Pictures #124: 2025 (98th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Sinners

"A sinner like me, I can't ask for more than that."

I used to say that a genuinely good horror movie only comes along every 5 years or so. Thankfully, the last few years have proven me wrong. 2025 was a good year for horror movies, but the clear stand out was writer-director Ryan Coogler's Sinners. It was a box office and critical hit, a rare combination for a horror movie. It is also rare for the Academy Awards to recognize a movie released in the first half of the year. It is even rarer for the Academy to recognize horror movies. So, it is very remarkable and exciting that Sinners not only received Oscar nominations, but received 16 nominations including Best Picture, the most of any film in Academy history. This is fitting because Sinners is a most remarkable and special film. 

In his 5th collaboration with Ryan Coogler (after Creed and the Black Panther movies to name a few), Michael B. Jordan plays gangster twins Smoke and Stack in 1932 Mississippi. After 7 years in Chicago they return to their hometown loaded with cash, Irish beer, Italian wine, and a secret trunk to set up a juke joint, have a good time, and watch the money flow in. They reconnect with friends and lovers, not all of whom are excited to see Smoke and Stack return. They also take in their teenage cousin, Sammie (Miles Caton), nicknamed Preacherboy, who is supremely gifted at the guitar and playing the blues, which sets him at odds with his stern preacher father. 

There are two halves to Sinners and any film with this kind of structure, especially one where the tone and even genre shift drastically, risks being uneven or a letdown in one way or another. From Dusk Til Dawn is a perfect example of this: the general consensus is that the first half of the movie with the gangster brothers is superior to the vampire action second half. The two halves are so distinct that they seemingly have little to do with each other and many people wished the whole movie was just about the gangster brothers. Sinners does not suffer from this problem. It does not feel uneven or disjointed. All of the character work and relationships of the first half of the movie are not thrown out for the second half. The actions and fates of the characters are informed by everything that has come before. Coogler’s Oscar nominated original screenplay never goes on autopilot. 

The marketing was secretive about just what specific type of horror faced the characters. Yet, it was never meant to be a secret, and certainly isn’t now, that this is a vampire movie. The film itself only speaks of evil and devil in vague terms at first. Aside from some quick imagery at the beginning, nothing supernatural happens for the first 40 minutes, but Sinners is not hiding that it is a horror movie. It takes its time getting to the horror but it does not waste that time. 

A prologue tells us how there can be people so gifted at making music that it conjures spirits of the past and the future and it can also attract evil. Sammie “Preacherboy” is such a person. The film's signature sequence of has Preacherboy’s music fulfilling the promise of the prologue in a dazzling and transcendent scene that should not work, that would be silly and pretentious in a lesser movie, but all of the right notes are hit in just the right way and the result is movie magic. 

Preacherboy is also the lynchpin between the story of the brothers and their nightclub and the assault of vampires who are drawn by his music. The mysterious party crashers are led by Remmick (Jack O'Connell), who also plays and enjoys music and speaks about equality and unity, about relieving pain and saving people. The best villains never see themselves as villains but Remmick only barely conceals his sinister and monstrous nature. More than victims and blood, he seeks to consume an entire person and their gifts and background and culture. The vampires have a collective mind, but it is clear that Remmick’s clan is not a round table.

Michael B. Jordan makes playing twins seem easy. It helps that they are dressed similarly but distinctly (Smoke wears blue; Stack wears red) and after their introduction they spend time apart allowing their personalities to grow. Jordan’s performance is what distinguishes the twins. It is no surprise he has earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination. It is also no surprise that the other standout performance comes from Delroy Lindo as Delta Slim, a drunken blues musician whose drunkenness and weary face show the pain and tribulations he has endured. Lindo has earned a Supporting Actor nomination, surprisingly the first of his long and impressive career. 

Sinners fits nicely under the pretentious term “elevated horror” that gets applied to arthouse horror films that receive awards and are liked by serious, scholarly critics. This is an “elevated horror” movie in the same way that Leonard Maltin describes the Astaire/Rogers musicals of the 1930’s as escapism that elevates the soul. The truth is that Sinners is a great movie whether you want to analyze it for themes and subtext or want to watch a tense, bloody vampire movie. Ryan Coogler made a horror movie that exceeds all expectations, as a horror fan I can’t ask for more than that. 

Sinners is streaming on HBOmax.

Nominees: Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Ryan Coogler

Director: Ryan Coogler Screenplay: Ryan Coogler Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O'Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo Production Company: Proximity Media Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures Release Date: April 18th, 2025 Total Nominations: 16, including Best Picture Other Nominations: Actor-Michael B. Jordan; Director-Ryan Coogler; Original Screenplay-Ryan Coogler; Supporting Actor-Delroy Lindo; Supporting Actress-Wunmi Mosaku; Cinematography-Autumn Durald Arkapaw; Production Design-Hannah Beachler (production designer), Monique Champagne (set decorator); Costume Design-Ruth E. Carter; Editing-Michael P. Shawver; Makeup and Hairstyling-Ken Diaz, Michael Fontaine, Shunika Terry; Original Score-Ludwig Göransson; Original Song-"I Lied to You", music and lyrics by-Ludwig Göransson, Raphael Saadiq; Sound-Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor, Steve Boeddeker; Visual Effects-Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter, Donnie Dean; Casting-Francine Maisler

Best Pictures #121: 2025 (98th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein (2025)

by A.J.

Best Pictures #121: 2025 (98th) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Frankenstein (2025)

"What manner of creature is that? What manner of devil made him?"

I am a fan of director Guillermo del Toro, however, it always seems to be a coin flip whether I'll like his next movie or not. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is one of my favorite books and holds the rare distinction of being a book I have read more than once. So, I was more trepidatious than excited to see del Toro's adaptation of Frankenstein. There have been so many Frankenstein movies from the silent short in 1910 to the landmark Universal monster movie in 1931 to many, many more and now to del Toro. With so many versions of Mary Shelley's story, so many variations, so many re-imaginings, do we really need one more? The answer is yes, if it is this one.

It’s no surprise that this was a passion project for del Toro, who has been obsessed with the novel and 1931 film, directed by James Whale, since childhood. His wonderfully macabre visual style, approach to certain themes, and ability to create sympathetic portrayals of monsters make Frankenstein the perfect story for him to tell. Even more than Pan's Labyrinth or The Shape of Water, this feels like the ultimate Guillermo del Toro movie. It is the movie he was meant to make. 

The plot is, dare I say, familiar. I read some reviews that claimed this adaptation was more faithful to the novel, which is a sign that someone has not read the novel. This is something that gets said whenever a movie includes the framing device of the arctic expedition that discovers Frankenstein and the Creature. del Toro's adaptation does begin with an arctic expedition trapped in the ice that comes upon a weary and ailing Victor Frankenstein who tells his woeful tale to the captain. Of course, del Toro makes sure that the Creature also gets to tell his tale. 

In this version, young Victor Frankenstein learned the basics of medicine from his cold and demanding father (played by Charles Dance, of course). At university Victor’s (Oscar Isaac) boundary pushing experiments and ideas catch the attention of the eccentric Harlander (Christoph Waltz), who agrees to bankroll Frankenstein’s experiment to create a new and improved man. Frankenstein becomes infatuated with Harlander’s niece, Elizabeth (Mia Goth), who is engaged to his younger brother, William. The movie takes its time before the Creature is introduced; fortunately none of that time is wasted and Jacob Elordi as the Creature does not disappoint. 

Like Sofia Coppola in Priscilla, del Toro uses Elordi’s 6’5” stature to overwhelming effect. The special makeup effects are quite impressive (Make Up and Hairstyling are just one of a total 9 Oscar nominations), and all the more impressive because they do not hide or distract from Elordi’s performance. He effectively conveys the longing and anger of the Creature so well articulated in Mary Shelley’s novel. Elordi has earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, the film’s only acting nomination. Neither a trophy nor a damsel, Mia Goth as Elizabeth is the promise of comfort and safety and love for Victor, William, and the Creature. Her compassion is the first kindness that the Creature knows. Oscar Isaac is at his best when playing mad scientists (see also Ex Machina for further proof and another excellent performance not nominated by the Academy). Isaac is delightfully over the top, clearly having fun with the role, and the movie benefits from it. Frankenstein is audacious, rakishly charming, arrogant and also selfish, abusive, and cowardly. One of the first things he does with the Creature is to put it in chains in the laboratory basement. His arc from protagonist to essentially a villain is done with care and Isaac handles Victor’s complexity very well. 

Both the Production Design and Costumes received Oscar nominations, and rightfully so. The story is set in the 1850’s, though things are not quite period accurate. They are, however, accurate to del Toro’s sensibilities. An elaborate statue of an archangel comes to fiery life during a nightmare (inspired by a real waking nightmare del Toro had as a child). The former armory turned laboratory is a bizarre and impractical but visually stunning tower on the edge of a cliff. There is a large chute down the middle from the top of the tower to the basement–reminiscent of the hole in the roof of the estate in Crimson Peak, itself inspired by Poe’s The Fall of House of Usher–that I can’t imagine would serve any real purpose. The costumes, especially Mia Goth’s gowns, follow this same outlandish but eyecatching style.

There is enough of the novel in this adaptation to satisfy a fan like me. There is also enough that is new and different that a viewer, horror fan or not, won't feel like they're watching the same old story. Though one of the great pillars of horror literature and cinema, the Frankenstein story is more macabre and spooky (gothic, you might say) than scary. The best film adaptations tune into Shelley's sympathy for the Creature and that Victor is actually a mad scientist, and even a villain. Mary Shelly created a thematically complex story and that is not lost in del Toro’s version. This movie gets gory and violent at times and it is perfect for a dreary day, a stormy night, or any time you’re in a spooky mood.

Frankenstein is available to stream on Netflix.

Nominees: Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale, Scott Stuber, producers

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Screenplay: Guillermo del Toro; based on Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

Cast: Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz

Production Companies: Double Dare You, Demilo Films, Bluegrass 7

Distributor: Netflix

Release Date: October 17th, 2025

Total Nominations: 9, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Supporting Actor-Jacob Elordi; Adapted Screenplay-Guillermo del Toro; Cinematography-Dan Laustsen; Production Design-Tamara Deverell (production designer), Shane Vieau (set decorator); Costume Design-Kate Hawley; Makeup and Hairstyling-Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey; Original Score-Alexandre Desplat; Sound-Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian T. Cooke, Brad Zoern

13 Nights of Shocktober: Cuckoo

by A.J.

Night 12: Hotel Horror Night

"If I were you, I wouldn't want to get hurt even more."

Cuckoo

Part monster movie, part mystery, part suspense picture, all of the seemingly disparate elements of director Tilman Singer’s Cuckoo come together for a strange and very entertaining horror movie that delivers everything the audience might want while also being something that stands out because it feels so different. Though this is a strange movie, it is not hard to follow. Director Singer plays fair and clues are here and there but this is not so much about solving the mystery or what it all means. This is also the rare movie that remains intriguing and interesting even after the big secret has been revealed. Singer’s direction and screenplay expertly build tension and mystery, increasing the strangeness of events so that by the time we reach the climax anything feels possible.

Teenage Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) moves with her family (father, stepmother, and younger half-sister) to the Bavarian Alps for her father to take an architecture job at a secluded mountain resort. The owner, Herr König (Dan Stevens), is very helpful. He remembers that Gretchen’s father and stepmother stayed there on their honeymoon. He insists that the family live at the resort and even gives Gretchen a job working at reception desk, but he insists that she not work at night or have an escort at night. From the mysterious prologue we know that Herr König is up to something secretive and sinister. 

Schafer is great at playing a believable and relatable teen and the script allows her to do dumb teen things like steal from the cash register and blow off work to make out with a girl she just met. She ignores the warning about going out at night alone and this is when the creepiness and horror really kick into gear. In a brilliant moment, all the creepier because it is underplayed, Gretchen rides her bike at night and in the woods a figure runs alongside her. Then she is attacked by a woman with glowing red eyes. She gets knocked around and that her injuries don’t just go away is a subtle but effective touch of realism. By the time the climax plays out Gretchen has an arm in a sling and bandage around her head. 

Other bizarre occurrences include Gretchen’s half sister Alma’s trance-like seizures that may, or may not, be linked with, or cause, time jumps. There is also Henry (Jan Bluthardt), a distraught former detective lurking around the resort grounds, who is set on some kind of revenge though he does not fully understand what happened in the past or what is happening now. 

Dan Stevens practically walks away with the whole movie, showing off not only his mastery of the German language but also a dark and villainous side. He is believably benevolent and dangerous. Unlike the detective, König never comes across as mad, though he is essentially a mad scientist. The most disturbing thing about his character is how cool and in control he comes across at all times. 

We eventually do find out what Herr König is up to and it may, or may not, be a surprise. Once the secret is revealed everything we’ve seen before makes sense and what follows is entertaining, even riveting, though it relies more on suspense and action than horror. This one of the very few times when a shootout in a horror movie is not a disappointment or used to make up for a lack of creativity. Herr König , Henry, and Gretchen stalking around, each with their own goal and agenda, is a very tense sequence. There is humor sprinkled throughout so neither dark plot points or themes become overwhelming. Gretchen is still mourning the death of her mother, but this used to build her character and explain her outlook and behavior, rather than as a shortcut for substance and subtext. Whether it is using horror or mystery techniques or even indulging in action, Cuckoo is well executed. Nothing happens randomly or for the sake of shock. It is weird, wild stuff.  

Cuckoo is available to stream on Hulu/Disney+.

13 Nights of Shocktober: House of Wax (1953)

by A.J.

Night 11: Vincent Price Night

“To you they are wax, but to me, their creator, they live and breath”

House of Wax (1953)

Here’s a Vincent Price classic for your Shocktober viewing: the horror remake House of Wax, not the 2005 remake, but the 1953 version which was a remake of the 1933 film Mystery of the Wax Museum, itself a horror classic. House of Wax (1953) is significant for two reasons: 1) Though it was not Vincent Price’s first appearance in a horror movie—he had previously voiced the Invisible Man in some of the Universal Studios sequels—it marked the significant shift in his career to the horror genre and solidified his standing as a horror star; 2) Though it was not the first 3-D movie, it is one of the more significant and famous examples of the short lived 3-D fad of the 1950’s. This will explain the completely unnecessary scene of a carnival barker hitting a paddle ball at the camera, the close ups of high kicking can-can dancers, and why so many characters and objects fall towards the camera. This is also why the 88 minute movie has an intermission since the 3D would cause headaches if people watched for too long without a break. Of course the real reason House of Wax has endured and become a horror classic has everything to do with the movie’s willingness to have fun and the performance of Vincent Price.

The plot is little changed from Mystery of the Wax Museum, aside from removing a reporter character and moving the setting from contemporary times to the late 1890’s. Vincent Price plays Professor Henry Jerrod, a master wax sculptor who prefers recreating historical scenes and figures instead of the macabre but lucrative “chamber of horrors” exhibits. His business partner sets fire to the museum to collect insurance money and Jarrod is presumed dead in the fire. Years later the business partner is murdered by a mysterious figure dressed in black and Jarrod returns with a new wax museum, this time with a chamber of horrors and wax figures that seem just a bit too realistic. 

Not a lot makes sense in House of Wax, but it is fun nonetheless so it’s easy to overlook the plot holes. Jarrod is in a wheelchair and his hands are disfigured and useless, so he has his henchmen–one of whom is a young Charles Buchinsky, later to be Charles Bronson–presumably following his verbal instructions, but he is plenty capable of working the giant wax vat at the end of the movie. The reveal of a character wearing a wax mask is a great horror moment, but the implied realism of the mask is a bit of a stretch.

Vincent Price’s role has all the hallmarks that would become part of his horror movie persona. He begins as a sympathetic character; then he is wronged, driven mad, and becomes a villain sometimes bent on revenge, sometimes bent on mayhem, sometimes both. Still, he is so charismatic you almost want him to succeed (except for when he played the real-life monster Mathew Hopkins who executed hundreds of people during one of England’s witch panics in Witchfinder General). As Price wheels his way through the wax museum leading a tour he is utterly delightful in his wry delivery of gallows humor and bad puns. When he is in disguise, Price does a great job sneaking around (he really knows how to twirl a cape). Not only is he great as a mad villain but he is also believable in the scenes where Jarrod talks about his love of art and sculpting.

The highlights are the epic fight between Price and his business partner as the original wax museum burns down around them. The other is the climax which has Jarrod’s intended victim strapped to a table under a giant vat of boiling wax as the police race to find her. The secret workroom resembles a classic mad scientist's lab. The 3-D gimmick scenes, even without the actual 3-D effect, stick out like sore thumbs but still contribute to the overall entertainment value. This is not exactly a campy movie, even with its dated effects and acting styles. It is less concerned with creating chilling scares than making sure you have a horror-themed fun time. It worked then and it works now. 

House of Wax airs on TCM on Halloween at 9AM CT and is available to stream on HBOmax.

13 Nights of Shocktober: JAWS

by A.J.

Night 9: Monster Movie Night

“It’s as if God created the devil and gave him… jaws.”

JAWS

Very few movies come close to being perfect. JAWS is one of them. It is an important film for many reasons. It was the first blockbuster, the first movie to make over $100 million, beginning the tradition of studios releasing big budget movies in the summer in hopes of big profits. It did not launch the career of Steven Spielberg–he had already directed TV shows and two films–but it did catapult him to becoming the most successful director of all time. JAWS has become part of pop culture; you don’t need to have seen the movie to recognize references and parodies, quote dialogue, or instantly recognize the famous score by the legendary composer John Williams. JAWS usually places near the top, if not at the very top, of lists of scariest movies ever made. Most people might not consider JAWS a horror movie, but that is the perfect description for a movie about a monster terrorizing a town.  

Roy Scheider plays Amity Police Chief Brody, who is new to the island community and hates being in the water. He is pressured by Mayor Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) to change the cause of death on an autopsy report from shark attack to boating accident because the mayor and local business people are afraid a panic will keep away tourists, and their money, from Amity on the crucial 4th of July weekend. Of course, “this is no boating accident,” shark scientist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) declares after conducting his own autopsy. The attacks continue until finally Brody, Hooper, and Quint (Robert Shaw), the grizzled shark hunter, are at sea hunting the great white shark. 

The behind the scenes drama has become the stuff of movie legend, and to many may be as familiar as the scenes on screen. The mechanical shark, nicknamed Bruce, would not work and this is why Spielberg used the hide-the-monster-until-the-end approach; there was conflict about who would get top billing; the script was rewritten so many times that no one knows for sure who wrote Quint’s famous U.S.S. Indianapolis speech (it is not in the novel or early drafts, and depending on who is telling the story the speech was either written by writer-director and Spielberg friend John Milius or by Robert Shaw himself). 

According to legend, B-movie producer-director Roger Corman’s reaction to JAWS was concern because it was the first time a major studio put a major budget behind the kind of movie he would typically make for as little money as possible. While many Corman movies are better than their low budgets would suggest, young Spielberg made the most of his big studio budget, lack of executive interference, talented collaborators, and his own unparalleled talent and skill to make the ultimate monster-on-the-loose movie.

Consciously or not, Spielberg borrowed much from Hitchcock; most famously the uncanny zoom-dolly that pulls the camera away even as the camera lens zooms in fast on Brody's face when a shark attack happens (Hitchcock used this effect to visualize Jimmy Stewart's vertigo in Vertigo.). Since Spielberg could not show the shark, he suggests the shark. In a terrifying scene, two locals throw a roast tied to a chain off a dock. The shark takes the bait, pulling the dock apart, and one of the locals falls in the water. "Take my word for it Charlie, don't look back just swim!” says the other as we see the wrecked pier turn back and move toward the man in the water. POV shots also suggest the shark without showing it and build suspense (we know the shark is stalking swimmers but they do not). Countless slasher movies would also utilize the POV shot for the same reason but far less effectively. Nothing suggests the shark better than its ominous leitmotif by John Williams. However there are also many scenes and scares that would fit comfortably in any less sophisticated horror movie including: severed body parts, a geyser of blood, a close up of a decaying decapitated head, and an animal doing something it would never do, like a massive shark jumping onto a boat, but by that point you’re too caught up in the movie to care.

One of the many great things about JAWS is that there are many ways to enjoy it. You can watch it and analyze the filmmaking techniques: the staging, cinematography, editing, score, the combination of all of these and more. You can watch and pay attention to subtext and social commentary. Like all great movies, JAWS offers different interpretations for different eras. In 1975, some might have seen the coverup plot by the mayor and thought of the Watergate scandal and coverup. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic the arguments between the mayor and Brody and Hooper about closing the beaches for public safety vs keeping them open for the sake of the economy had an especially deep resonance. The dynamic between Brody, Hooper, and Quint is fascinating. Quint and Hooper can’t stand each other but Quint likes Brody and Brody likes Hooper so they all put up with each other. Each portrays a different kind of masculinity, each with positive and negative qualities, and that deserves its own thorough analytical essay. Or, you can just settle in and experience one of the scariest movies ever made. Even 50 years later, even after multiple viewings,  JAWS still works wonders and that is movie magic. 

JAWS is available to stream on Netflix. It is also available on 4K, Blu-ray, & DVD and is probably at your local library.

13 Nights of Shocktober: Eaten Alive

 by A.J.

Night 8: Creature Feature Night

Meet The Maniac And His Friend

Eaten Alive

The career of director Tobe Hooper consists of films you’ve certainly heard of (the landmark 1974 horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), films that sound familiar (Lifeforce), and films you might never have heard of, like his follow up to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Eaten Alive. I doubt anyone would argue that Eaten Alive is scarier or more intense than Chainsaw, but it is very difficult to watch at times. This is the kind of sleazy and grimy low budget movie that will make your skin crawl. What’s to like?...What's not to like?

The opening seconds let you know what is in store. The very first words spoken are “My name is Buck. I’m rarin’ to fuck,” said by none other than a young Robert Englund over an extreme close up of a his crotch as he undoes his jeans. The reluctant sex worker responds, “Let’s just get it over with.” What follows is an attempted rape. The movie does not become any more pleasant. The sex worker, Clara (Roberta Collins), quits the brothel and ends up at an isolated hotel run by local yokel, Judd (Neville Brand), a puritanical psychopath who ends up killing and feeding her to the crocodile that lives in the swamp right next to the hotel. Other characters arrive for various reasons including Clara’s father Harvey (Mel Ferrer) and sister, Libby (Crystin Sinclaire), who are searching for her. A quarrelling husband and wife, Ray and Faye (Marilyn Burns), with their very young daughter, Angie, and dog named Snoopy also stop at the hotel. There is something off about the couple and Ray (William Finley) proves to be about as mentally unstable as Judd. 

There is no real protagonist. Libby and Faye are not so much passive characters as they are barely written. The town sheriff allows the brothel to operate and makes vague come-ons to Libby. Harvey disowned Clara causing her to run away in the first place. The closest we get to a hero is attempted rapist and all around troublemaker Buck, who looks around after hearing a child scream for help, but he only does this because the woman he is in bed with insists.

So much about this movie is off putting, but that is part of its appeal–though I will of course admit that for some it may be off putting entirely and that is okay too. A big element that takes the edge off and keeps things entertaining in spite of the unpleasantness on screen is the low budget and stylized look. The run down hotel and pier are obviously a set. Fog and mist straight out of old horror movies covers the seams of the sets and crocodile effects. If the crocodile looks fake that only helps. It is up to the actors to sell the killer croc, who needs victims brought to it–not unlike a later Tobe Hooper movie also featuring Robert Englund, The Mangler. The exterior of the hotel is almost always bathed in red light that at first I thought came from a neon sign but actually comes from nothing but the film itself. It helps build the hellish atmosphere. The overacting is another element that adds camp and takes the edge off the horror. Neville as Judd reminded me of Stephen King’s classic overacting in "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" segment of Creepshow (1982). 

The hard lines that I must bring up that may make the movie too much are: 1) the dog is eaten by the crocodile almost immediately 2) Angie, a small child, is in danger for most of the movie; there are scenes of a scythe wielding chasing after her and the crocodile chases after her too. She is too young to be clever but Judd is pretty dumb and seems to just forget about her when she hides under the hotel.

There is not enough of an ethos for Eaten Alive to qualify as “dark” but like many grindhouse exploitation movies, it is entertaining in spite of and because of its low elements.

Eaten Alive is available to stream for free on Tubi and Plex.