20 GREAT Monster Movies NOBODY Talks About

In 1978, John Carpenter changed the entire horror genre with Halloween, subsequently spawning a litany of slasher rip-offs, none of which came even close to the terror instilled by Michael Myers (Nick Castle). A similar phenomenon occurred following the release of Jaws.

The next five years alone saw Piranha, Bug, Grizzly, Barracuda, Alligator, Orca the Killer Whale, and Squirm, all based around killer creatures. Of course, Piranha saw success and a subsequent franchise, but to throw Alligator in with the rest of the knockoffs would be unfair.

While other creature features have done little else other than take random animals and turn them into killers, leaving very little space for things like plot, dialogue, character development, and so forth, 1980's Alligator put far more effort in. Particularly with Robert Foster as the lead, this was a genuinely compelling outing that, though the influence from Jaws was clear, felt more like taking inspiration rather than an outright rip-off.

The film scored a sequel 11 years later, Alligator II: The Mutation, and in typical fashion it was tough to watch. However, the original is still a strong monster movie that arguably deserves better.