Gator Bait (1974)
Think I Spit on Your Grave thrown in a cauldron with the faux nature documentary The Legend of Boggy Creek, add a tablespoonful of Southern Comfort, leave to simmer then add a splash of boat chasing from Live and Let Die and you have Gator Bait. A fun yet also thoroughly crude exploitation piece that has a nasty streak throughout.
It's a simply plotted film. Whilst attempting to molest the lovely Desiree (a big haired Claudia Jennings) a sadistic hillbilly's son is accidentally killed by the police chief's son. Blaming it falsely on Desiree, the police join up with the incestuous hillbilly family in hunting down Desiree and her two children in the untamed Louisiana swamps. What follows is a vicious game of cat and mouse involving rape and general all round brutality as the net closes in on Desiree. Or does it?
Whilst you can at times wander off and make a brew due to the endless hick chatter about what they'll do with her when they get her and nature doc style swampland travails, it's all nicely framed with the dense swamps bringing natural atmosphere and decently acted and you might even fall in love with Jennings. All in all Gator Bait is a film i really enjoyed for a second time and would heartily recommend to those who want a bit of nasty exploitation.
The US dvd i have looks like a real cheapie but is actually a special edition laden with extras and a beautiful 1:33:1 print
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