"Crocodile," which arrived on video in 2000, tells a story set in Southern California where college students celebrating Spring Break at a picturesque lake run into a giant crocodile worried about her eggs. As one might anticipate given the circumstances, these young adults engage in partying and use coarse language; viewers sensitive to those elements should probably avoid it. Tobe Hooper, the director known for "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974), was at the helm of “Crocodile.” While I don’t particularly care for "Texas"—though I can't say I dislike it—I find "Crocodile" to be a more enjoyable movie. It probably isn't fair to directly compare them, though, because "Texas" aims for serious slasher horror while "Crocodile" was intended as something lighter and funnier. The film includes a computer-generated scene near the end where the crocodile leaps over a boat; this sequence doesn’t quite work and feels very unrealistic—though, really, the entire movie is unbelievable, isn't it? Aside from that, the special effects are acceptable for a lower-budget horror film, and the creature itself looks impressive. "Crocodile" might not be high art, but it has plenty of energy and provides amusing entertainment with creatures running amok. Anyone choosing to watch something called "Crocodile" knows right away that it won't be anything like "Apocalypse Now." It’s simply a fun movie you can watch again and again, featuring Sommer Knight as the beautiful Sunny, Julie Mintz as the sophisticated Annabelle, and Caitlin Martin as the smart Claire. Among the male cast members, Mark McLachlan is memorable in his role as Brady, who resembles Tom Cruise, and Chris Solari delivers a good performance as Duncan. Compared to other films of its kind, "Crocodile" is considerably more entertaining than 1999's "Lake Placid" and better than 1980’s “Alligator.” It ranks among the best crocogator movies out there. The film has a running time of 93 minutes and was filmed at Lake Piru & Sable Ranch in Northern Los Angeles County, as well as Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico. GRADE: A-

Source on TMDB