This week’s retro trailer is for the 1976 horror thriller Eaten Alive, directed by Tobe Hooper, who was fresh off his breakthrough with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
This is a sleazy, fever-dream horror flick soaked in grime, sweat, and Southern Gothic madness. Set in the swamps of rural Texas, the story centers on a deranged hotel owner named Judd, played with unhinged intensity by Neville Brand, who murders his guests with a scythe and feeds them to his pet crocodile lurking just outside the hotel.
Like many creature features of the mid-70s, the film was clearly trying to ride the coattails of Jaws, swapping out the ocean for a murky swamp and a great white shark for a hungry crocodile. But instead of going for big-budget thrills, it leans hard into grindhouse exploitation.
The movie thrives on its sleazy, unhinged energy, amplified by an eccentric cast that includes a young Robert Englund, Mel Ferrer, and Marilyn Burns. Hooper leans into a surreal, almost theatrical style with garish lighting and eerie production design that makes the rundown Starlight Hotel feel like a decaying stage set.
While it lacks the raw power and cultural impact of Texas Chain Saw, Eaten Alive stands out as a wild, trashy slice of 70s horror that’s as bizarre as it is disturbing, and it’s a must-watch for fans of grimy exploitation cinema looking for something offbeat and totally unhinged.