Synopsis:
When a prostitute (Roberta Collins) refuses to service a man (Robert Englund), she runs away from her brothel’s owner (Carolyn Jones) and seeks refuge at a hotel run by a psychotic manager (Neville Brand) with a voracious “pet” crocodile.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

• Deep South
• Horror Films
• Mel Ferrer Films
• Neville Brand Films
• Psychopaths

Review:
Tobe Hooper’s follow-up to his breakthrough horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) was this over-the-top grindhouse flick centered on one basic premise: muttering Brand viciously attacking his guests with a scythe and tossing them to his pet crocodile.

It’s filled with “cameos” — for instance, by Carolyn Jones as brothel-owner “Miss Hattie”:

… Mel Ferrer as Collins’ father, who has come looking for her:

… Stuart Whitman as the sheriff attempting to help Ferrer and his other daughter (Crystin Sinclaire) in their search:

… and William Finley as a bizarre father whose young daughter (Kyle Richards) is traumatized by the loss of her pet dog ‘Snoopy’ to the crocodile:

… and whose wife (Marilyn Burns) spends most of the film tied up in a bed screaming for her life.

This gothic horror flick is really a mess, with odd (often red) lighting, a chaotic soundtrack, and poor-to-non-existent effects for the lethal crocodile, who’s barely seen. You can skip this one unless it sounds like your cup of tea.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

• Neville Brand’s unhinged (albeit often incomprehensible) performance

Must See?
No; skip this one unless you’re a diehard Hooper fan. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

• IMDb entry
• Q Network Review
• Moria Review
• Spinning Image Review