The 90s was a decade rife with ideas. It saw the emergence of the independent film market as a viable parallel alongside the Hollywood machine, and the increasing capability of consumer-grade video became increasingly more powerful. Sure, the 80s was overflowing with movies from regional filmmakers, and it was the 90s when this direct-to-video niche became an industry that supplied video stores and premium cable providers alike. Those old enough to remember “free preview weekends” no doubt have witnessed the kinds of films that peppered the overnight weekend hours and the specific brand of horniness that was perpetuated through these films. This is kind of the stuff that direct-to-video heroes VISUAL VENGEANCE specialize in, and their newest release of REPLIGATOR on BLU RAY is another prime example. Is this DTV outing one of the diamonds in the rough or are these gators just scales and tails?

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

At a top-secret military facility, a group of scientists and army brass work on the 'The Replicator Project' which quickly goes awry when it turns all the male soldiers into gorgeous, scantily clad nymphets, who then morph into alligators when they reach the peak of sexual excitement!

HOW IS IT?

There is a good chance that if you’re reading this review you fall into one of two categories; a person who is going to buy this film regardless and a person who is just morbidly curious about what the actual fuck a “repligator” is. The ven diagram of these two personas is the kind of person who covets SHARKNADO and appreciates “so bad it’s good” in the same way a sommelier appreciates the tannins in a cabernet sauvignon. Repligator is almost exactly what you think it is, puritanically so, and is at times the horniest film while also being heartfelt. The comedy doesn’t land when it is supposed to and does when it isn’t. This is not groundbreaking cinema, but it is a lot of silly fun for those of you who appreciate effort and ingenuity over polish and perfection.

The story in Repligator is the kind of thing a horny 13-year-old cisgender kid would write if they loved WEIRD SCIENCE and HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN. The entire plot centers around a military experiment to teleport people, a la Seth Brundle, but instead, it turns male soldiers into centerfold-worthy women. Not only does it turn them into the opposite sex, but when they try to reverse the process it turns them into ticking alligator time bombs. As soon as they reach a “prehistoric orgasm” they will transform into vicious alligator people. Just writing all of this out made me feel somewhat insane, but that is exactly what is going on in this movie. So much so there are entire minutes devoted to explaining junk science that attempts to paint a picture of how this could happen and why. It is admirable that this kind of attention to detail is apparent in the film, even if it is wildly unnecessary and silly. The performances are exactly the caliber one would expect, and Repligator wears its low-budget proudly on its sleeve relying heavily on the “star power” of GUNNAR HANSEN and BRINKE STEVENS to bring some name recognition to the production. This isn’t saying the performances are bad so much as it is that the performances are just kinda goofy. Nothing is to be taken seriously in this, which is great for aficionados of this fare and probably tortuous for those who aren’t.

The charm of Repligator is that everyone here is trying to tell a serious story that everyone knows is entirely preposterous. The production itself looks like it was made from spare parts (which it actually was, more on that later) and the visual effects are relics of a time when terms like “floppy drives” were taken seriously. The story, with all of its simplicity, is still somewhat bloated by the fact the film was intentionally lengthened to entice distributors bringing it closer to 90 minutes than the original 45. This makes the pacing a bit of a problem in the middle and towards the end and makes some of the storylines feel disjointed from the core middle. Still, to judge a film like this on the merits of plot and story would be to entirely miss the point of a movie like this. Repligator isn’t here to expose the dangerous possibilities of experimentation and misogyny, no, it is here to give you tits and (scaly) tails no more and no less. While Repligator isn’t a film that will change the way you look at the medium, it is a perfect film to watch with a few friends to have a barrel of (unintentional) laughs with.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

Visual Vengeance is known for bringing us more modestly shot films, and Repligator is certainly such a case. As such, the expectation around A/V quality should always be checked by the reality that these films were often not shot on film or modern digital. Still, Repligator and similar Visual Vengeance films look as good as they ever will since Visual Vengeance uses the original master tapes for their SD master presented on the film. With a fullscreen aspect ratio of 1.33:1, Repligator looks quite good all things considered. The colors aren’t too washed out, and there is hardly any visual disruption due to the quality of the transfer. Images from this release are used below and throughout the review.

HOW DOES IT SOUND?

Much like the video side of things, the sound department for Repligator doesn’t boast any modern niceties aside from a solid-sounding stereo audio track. This 2-channel mix is just right for this kind of film, and there is a good balance between the action, music, and dialogue so all of them come through clearly without competing with each other.

ANYTHING SPECIAL?

The good folks at Visual Vengeance are known for their packaging and special features, and Repligator continues to uphold that high standard of camp, quality, and insight. While there are a lot of supplemental features in these releases and we can’t get to them all, we did hone in on a couple that were quite enlightening. The first was an Archival “Making Of” Featurette which didn’t run all that long but covered a lot of ground. This was originally created around the time of the film's original release, so it was interesting to hear how folks like Director BRET MCCORMICK talk about the film in comparison to later interviews. Given the relatively short length of this feature, we moved on to another more recent one.

In a newly commissioned 2022 feature, Director Bret McCormick Interview we get a far more holistic look at the man behind this film and many others. This 20+ minute interview covers Bret’s whole life from how he got interested in filmmaking to what ultimately caused him to leave, and then come back again. What was most fascinating about his take on things was in relation to Repligator. A script that was literally written on a weekend and filmed in almost as little time as the original concept. Part of the reason McCormick did this was in aspiration of beating his influence Roger Corman who filmed a movie in as little time. Ultimately, this initial concept wasn’t long enough to entice distributors, which is around the same time both Gunnar Hansen and Brinke Stevens were brought in to add more runtime to the film. McCormick’s interview covers so much more and is a must-watch for aspiring filmmakers to get a sense of how the business can be, from someone who has double-digit credits to his name. A full list of special features is listed below:

BONUS MATERIALS

Region Free Blu-ray
New, director supervised SD master from original master tapes
Limited Edition Slipcase - FIRST PRESSING ONLY
Commentary with director Bret McCormick and Glen Coburn
Commentary with Sam Panico of B&S About Movies and Bill Van Ryn of Drive-In Asylum
Archival Making Of Featurette
Archival Bret McCormick Interview (2013)
Original Deleted Opening Scene
Director Bret McCormick Interview (2022)
Producer Wynn Winberg Interview (2022)
Actress Brinke Stevens Interview (2022)
Actor Carl Merritt Interview (2022)
Actor Randy Clower Interview (2022)
Original VHS Trailer
Visual Vengeance TrailersOne pair of branded 'X-Ray Specs'
Folded mini-poster
'Stick your own' VHS sticker sheet
Reversible Sleeve With Original VHS Art
2-Sided Insert
Optional English Subtitles

LAST RITES

Repligator is a film that makes no allusions to being anything more than silly, cheesy, and horny fun. It isn’t the kind of thing you’re likely to watch all the time, but it is entertaining and committed enough to make you crack an unintentional smile at it. As always, the overall Visual Vengeance packaging and feature set make these kinds of films a “must-buy” for the discerning collector.

THE GORY DETAILS

Thank you to the fine fiends over at MVD ENTERTAINMENT for providing a review copy for the crypt! Repligator is available NOW and can be purchased via MVD DIRECT!

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Nov 4, 2020

Matthew Orozco