aka Death Trap
Tobe's follow-up to Chainsaw Massacre (1974) isn't as good, but that's to be expected because Chainsaw was amazing. However, Eaten Alive has a similar kind of frighteningly real violence, showing how Tobe's time spent as a documentary cameraman was clearly still an influence on his style.
Hotel owner Judd (Neville Brand) keeps a crocodile out the back of his establishment. The croc isn't the only predator in the story. Judd, a man with a dysfunctional conscience, is just as savage a killer. When the latter predator needs to dispose of his handiwork he feeds it to the former.
The blood-red nights are made even more eerie by an unusual musical score that by turns resembles some kind of alarm, screams, underwater groans, a machine or a metal fence under stress. music box chimes, and more.
The tension rises and falls as the story goes on, occasionally wearing thin, but when it's at its peak it's a truly menacing experience for the viewer.
3 scythe swings out of 5
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