The Big Picture
- Tobe Hooper’s
Eaten Alive
was overshadowed by
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
, but is worth revisiting for its bizarre and scary storyline. -
Eaten Alive
is an exploitation creature feature set in Texas, featuring a man feeding his motel guests to his pet alligator. -
Eaten Alive
showcases Hooper’s unique style with gritty Texas settings, artificial lighting, expanded use of gore, and a predator vs. prey theme.
Tobe Hooper changed the horror game forever when he released TheTexas Chainsaw Massacre in 1974. It was gritty and brutal, and while he is a legend in some smaller horror spaces, Hooper never got cemented into horror directing the same way Wes Craven or John Carpenter did. In fact, many people will only reference The Texas Chainsaw Massacre when talking about Hooper because it was such a game-changer for horror in the 1970s. Still, he deserves another look over for his bizarre and wildly scary stories.
One that followed up The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 1976 was Eaten Alive. This one sent critics and audiences into a frenzy because it was classic Tobe Hooper, but it was also so strange that they couldn’t believe that is what his answer to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was. Using the same landscape of Texas and being inspired by a real-life serial killer, Eaten Alive is an exploitation creature feature that goes unnoticed, but could be a guilty pleasure for horror fans.
Eaten Alive (1977)
A psychotic redneck, who owns a dilapidated hotel in rural East Texas, kills various people who upset him or his business, and he feeds their bodies to a large crocodile that he keeps as a pet in the swamp beside his hotel.
- Release Date
- May 13, 1977
- Cast
- Neville Brand , Mel Ferrer , Carolyn Jones , Marilyn Burns , William Finley , Stuart Whitman , Roberta Collins , Kyle Richards
- Runtime
- 91 Minutes
What Is ‘Eaten Alive’ About?
Taking place in Texas again, Eaten Alive is about a man named Judd (Neville Brand) who runs a hotel in a backwoods swamp. Of course, he has a pet crocodile that lives in the swamp next to the hotel, and the two of them are thick as murderers, I mean, thieves. He starts killing his motel guests and feeding them to his pet alligator in a variety of ways when those motel guests upset him or inconvenience him in any way. The film stars some familiar faces, like Carolyn Jones, who is the original Morticia Addams, Kyle Richards from the Halloween franchise, and even Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund. The story of Judd and his alligator pal is presumed to be inspired by Joe Ball. Ball reportedly fed the bodies of up to 20 women to his pet alligator.
Tobe Hooper Tried to Make ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ PG — And Failed, Hard
‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ isn’t as violent as you might remember, and there’s a peculiar reason why director Tobe Hooper took this approach.
Does ‘Eaten Alive’ Have the Signature Tobe Hooper Style?
In comparing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to Eaten Alive, there are a few key distinctions that seem to stand out for Hooper’s style. First, both films took place in Texas. Eaten Alive takes place about an hour from Tyler and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre takes place around Austin. Both environments are gritty, earthy, and dingy. Hooper uses the desolate location of these films to sell how otherworldly it seems to step into Leatherface or Judd’s realm. They’re human, but nothing about where they’re from or how they act resembles anything we would commonly expect. One main difference is that Eaten Alive was shot on soundstages instead of on location like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Because of this, Eaten Alive can look at times a little fake, but the ability to use artificial light really buffed up the incredulity of the strangeness that happens at Judd’s motel.
There is a very cut and dry theme to the plot of each movie as well. Both involve predator and prey. Leatherface kills for his family and Judd kills for his livelihood and business. Hooper did take Eaten Alive a step further with the kills. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre had a lot of kills, yes, but not all were packed to the brim with blood and guts. Eaten Alive takes those kills to the next notch and what we got was a violent, on-screen massacre. Eaten Alive may not be as brilliant as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but it does showcase how well Hooper can create and transport the audience into a story that feels dirty and surreal. He sets the tone for the location where these murders take place and turns it up to 11 with unique kills, larger-than-life characters, and unhinged moments.
Is ‘Eaten Alive’ Considered a “Video Nasty?”
The UK definitely thought that Eaten Alive fit the bill of a “video nasty” when it was first released in 1982. Originally under the alternative name, Death Trap, audiences hated it. Many were shocked that the movie showcased so many people being eaten alive. Maybe if it had been released under its original and current name, the shock of someone being eaten alive wouldn’t be so stark as it’s stated going in. The film was banned overseas for a decade until the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) cut 25 seconds out of the original runtime. Eaten Alive was edited because many at the time felt such gruesome imagery on screen would incite violence and push people in the direction of committing heinous crimes. Up until 2000, that edited version was the only one available. Now, everyone is able to watch it in all of its strange and peculiar glory.
Eaten Alive is streaming on Peacock in the U.S.
Watch on Peacock
