EATEN ALIVE – AKA 'Death Trap'. Had a sudden hankering to watch 'Eaten Alive' this afternoon, so I did. It's always been a bit of a divisive one, hasn't it? I guess people had a bit of a downer on Tobe Hooper for not coming up with something to round out the insanity of TCM . That's a shame, because 'Eaten Alive' is definitely worth some attention. I'm well aware that it doesn't float every Labber's boat, but I like it. I'd forgotten how bizarre it is. For those who've never been moved to try it, Neville Brand is the owner of a ramshackle motel deep in the Bayou (probably). He's also a mumbling psychopath who feeds his guests to his pet crocodile. Runaway hookers drop by and get offed. Weird families check in and the same happens to them. A little girl spends most of the movie shrieking and scampering out of croc's way. Robert Englund is a bit of a knob. Morticia Adams is a mummified brothel madam. Mel Ferrer tries to lend some dignity to the proceedings, but ends up with a scythe through his neck. That's about it. 'Eaten Alive' is as broken down and lopsided as Neville's travel lodge, and isn't afraid to play the gonzo card. We know this straight away, confronted as we are by the whacked electronic soundtrack which plays over the full moon title credits. The whole film is permeated by strange noises. Strange performances too. Brand is the forerunner of introspective psychos like Spinell's 'Maniac', forever muttering inane philosophies. Scenes of him sitting around humming tunes are closer to the heart of 'Eaten Alive' than the blood'n'guts (of which, there isn't all that much). How about those odd, odd character interactions? William Finley in that motel room, looking for his imaginary eye in the carpet? What was going on there? No quarter given to anything like rational explanation – good. 'Eaten Alive' looks incredibly stylised. The Bava 101 lighting is amped up and couldn't look more intrusive. To add to the alienation, the film has the feel of a play transported to a wretched looking film set. All of this is great / grating. The downsides carry less weight – it's a bit meandering, drags in places, some opportunities for true mean spiritedness weren't taken up. It's uneven. It's a little less than the sum of its parts, but those parts are pretty rich and strange. A film which deserves a bit more love in my eyes, 'Eaten Alive' nearly epitomises eccentric seventies drive in horror. Give it another go.
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