For those of us who watch a lot of schlock, the name of Jim Wynorski rustles up a lot of mixed feelings.
Boasting an astonishing library of well over one hundred different titles, the writer, director, and producer has dabbled in everything from Science Fiction to Horror to Fantasy and even Pornography … though I’ve been told that by authentic pornographic standards his efforts are a bit light. Following in the footsteps of the great B-movie king Roger Corman, Wynorski pushed the boundaries of what audiences expect from these less-than-tentpole features, even turning out some notable small screen parodies that took swipes at projects mainstream viewers embraced. With that much production under his belt, it should go without saying that not all of it has been perfect; and yet he continues to deliver perfectly well enough to keep folks watching, laughing, celebrating, and promoting (via word-of-mouth) a great deal of what exists in his still growing catalogue.
My point in all of this isn’t to admonish the man in any way. I’ve seen a fair share of his wares; and though I may not exactly give any of them an enthusiastic ‘thumbs up’ I’m still convinced that – in some small way – my life is better for having been entertained. I laugh at a good deal of what he’s done, but it isn’t harmful or hurtful in any estimation. In some ways, I’m surprised with just what he can get away with: this and that wouldn’t work in a Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, or even Alfred Hitchcock picture, and yet there are moments in his efforts that feel like they very much have been drawn from that same inspiration. Cheaply? Sure. Shamelessly? Possibly. Gratuitously? Who’s to say? But it’s no less effective. It works. It just looks far more affordable. By community theater standards.
This is why I rarely pass up an opportunity to explore yet one more outing of his when they’re offered, so when a distributor ponied up Wynorski’s latest and greatest – 2024’s DinoGator – I just couldn’t say no. (Yes, I thought about it twice.) Written by Blake Miller, the Monster movie stars Michael Madsen, Paul Logan, Jesse Bernstein, Lauren Parkinson, and Aaron Groben in key roles; it explores what happens when a mutated reptile – part snake, part alligator – gets loose and terrorizes the backwoods Florida swamps. A great deal of it is derivative to the point wherein you might think you’ve seen it before … but rest assured that you haven’t seen it done schlocktacularly until you’ve seen it under the Wynorski imprimatur!
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary for discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few minor hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
Boasting an astonishing library of well over one hundred different titles, the writer, director, and producer has dabbled in everything from Science Fiction to Horror to Fantasy and even Pornography … though I’ve been told that by authentic pornographic standards his efforts are a bit light. Following in the footsteps of the great B-movie king Roger Corman, Wynorski pushed the boundaries of what audiences expect from these less-than-tentpole features, even turning out some notable small screen parodies that took swipes at projects mainstream viewers embraced. With that much production under his belt, it should go without saying that not all of it has been perfect; and yet he continues to deliver perfectly well enough to keep folks watching, laughing, celebrating, and promoting (via word-of-mouth) a great deal of what exists in his still growing catalogue.
My point in all of this isn’t to admonish the man in any way. I’ve seen a fair share of his wares; and though I may not exactly give any of them an enthusiastic ‘thumbs up’ I’m still convinced that – in some small way – my life is better for having been entertained. I laugh at a good deal of what he’s done, but it isn’t harmful or hurtful in any estimation. In some ways, I’m surprised with just what he can get away with: this and that wouldn’t work in a Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, or even Alfred Hitchcock picture, and yet there are moments in his efforts that feel like they very much have been drawn from that same inspiration. Cheaply? Sure. Shamelessly? Possibly. Gratuitously? Who’s to say? But it’s no less effective. It works. It just looks far more affordable. By community theater standards.
This is why I rarely pass up an opportunity to explore yet one more outing of his when they’re offered, so when a distributor ponied up Wynorski’s latest and greatest – 2024’s DinoGator – I just couldn’t say no. (Yes, I thought about it twice.) Written by Blake Miller, the Monster movie stars Michael Madsen, Paul Logan, Jesse Bernstein, Lauren Parkinson, and Aaron Groben in key roles; it explores what happens when a mutated reptile – part snake, part alligator – gets loose and terrorizes the backwoods Florida swamps. A great deal of it is derivative to the point wherein you might think you’ve seen it before … but rest assured that you haven’t seen it done schlocktacularly until you’ve seen it under the Wynorski imprimatur!
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary for discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few minor hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“A hip rock band films a music video and unknowingly disturbs a cryptic creature.”
Sometimes, a little history goes a long way.
For example, it might interest some readers to know that DinoGator is, in fact, not a new movie. Although it’s hitting the DVD and streaming shelves presently in 2025, the truth is that it originally sprang into its fertile existence back in 2015 under the name of CobraGator – a title some might suggest vastly more fitting given the seminal creature’s design – when it aired on the SciFi (aka Syfy) Channel said to have been produced by Roger Corman. (I have been unable to confirm Corman’s involvement in my research though he is cited on the flick’s IMDB.com page.) Apparently, the picture was shelved after that broadcast, but I’ve read an online petition was created sometime in 2020 calling for it to be available on home video.
Ask and you shall receive … but always remember to be careful what you wish for, folks.
While others in the critical community might insist that the film is not up to snuff, there’s always been an audience – perhaps not all that large – for such saccharin and derivative fare. Though not quite a traditional Monster movie, it borrows a few of the tropes in order to get its feet off the ground … or should that be ‘slithering?’ Though not quite a full-bodied Horror, Miller’s script still falls back on casting a group of young and naïve men and women to chiefly end up as monster chow before the last reel. And though there’s the hint of some dastardly mad science having taken place to get us where we are when the picture begins, absolutely none of it is seen onscreen so we’ll have to take their word for it as to just how, when, where, and why this hungry beast came into existence.
Plus … that deadly science?
Well, that occurs offscreen, we’re told. Long before this story begins. Such trickery would’ve been cost prohibitive, so it’s covered here in exposition that’s even shockingly economical.
Structurally, DinoGator isn’t all that different from Gojira (1954), The Fly (1986), or even Jurassic Park (1993). All of these features begin under the rubric of ‘science gone awry’ where mankind’s tinkering winds up instigating the potential for the end to life as we know it, only then to have our heroes big and small spending the better part of 90-minutes running from it before, ultimately, vanquishing the foe in the climax. That’s the formula, and it works nearly every time it’s applied. So, yes, all of that happens here. Make no mistake: Wynorski knows full well what cloth he’s spinning in his magic-making machine. The biggest difference here – aside from the vastly different production budgets – is that there are no current marquee heavyweights in the cast, so audiences have to make do with some relative unknowns or thereabouts.
“A hip rock band films a music video and unknowingly disturbs a cryptic creature.”
Sometimes, a little history goes a long way.
For example, it might interest some readers to know that DinoGator is, in fact, not a new movie. Although it’s hitting the DVD and streaming shelves presently in 2025, the truth is that it originally sprang into its fertile existence back in 2015 under the name of CobraGator – a title some might suggest vastly more fitting given the seminal creature’s design – when it aired on the SciFi (aka Syfy) Channel said to have been produced by Roger Corman. (I have been unable to confirm Corman’s involvement in my research though he is cited on the flick’s IMDB.com page.) Apparently, the picture was shelved after that broadcast, but I’ve read an online petition was created sometime in 2020 calling for it to be available on home video.
Ask and you shall receive … but always remember to be careful what you wish for, folks.
While others in the critical community might insist that the film is not up to snuff, there’s always been an audience – perhaps not all that large – for such saccharin and derivative fare. Though not quite a traditional Monster movie, it borrows a few of the tropes in order to get its feet off the ground … or should that be ‘slithering?’ Though not quite a full-bodied Horror, Miller’s script still falls back on casting a group of young and naïve men and women to chiefly end up as monster chow before the last reel. And though there’s the hint of some dastardly mad science having taken place to get us where we are when the picture begins, absolutely none of it is seen onscreen so we’ll have to take their word for it as to just how, when, where, and why this hungry beast came into existence.
Plus … that deadly science?
Well, that occurs offscreen, we’re told. Long before this story begins. Such trickery would’ve been cost prohibitive, so it’s covered here in exposition that’s even shockingly economical.
Structurally, DinoGator isn’t all that different from Gojira (1954), The Fly (1986), or even Jurassic Park (1993). All of these features begin under the rubric of ‘science gone awry’ where mankind’s tinkering winds up instigating the potential for the end to life as we know it, only then to have our heroes big and small spending the better part of 90-minutes running from it before, ultimately, vanquishing the foe in the climax. That’s the formula, and it works nearly every time it’s applied. So, yes, all of that happens here. Make no mistake: Wynorski knows full well what cloth he’s spinning in his magic-making machine. The biggest difference here – aside from the vastly different production budgets – is that there are no current marquee heavyweights in the cast, so audiences have to make do with some relative unknowns or thereabouts.
Backwoods geneticist Layton (played by Michael Madsen) is the resident megalomaniac who’s privately introduced the feared DinoGator into the food chain only to have his stuttering (autistic?) son Wyatt (Bryan Clark) let the massive Snakezilla loose apparently in their own backyard. (It’s horribly unclear. There was a shock collar involved. Wyatt took it off for reasons unexplained. And here we are.) Hoping to bring it back alive, Layton contracts sweaty bodybuilder and local hunting/boating tour guide Jake Dixon (Paul Logan) to brave the sunny swamps in search of the behemoth. But – damn it all! – a bunch of scantily-clad and rebellious rock’n’rollers filming their latest music video in the wild manage to gum up the works when they wind up adding themselves to the monster’s menu … and Dino’s gotta eat!
In true nihilist fashion, DinoGator makes only as much sense as it absolutely has to – which isn’t much – existing chiefly to give its trio of lovely young ladies – Roni (Lauren Parkinson), Aubrey (Savannah Goldstein), and Izzie (Grace Roubidoux) – an excuse to hoot, holler, and hell-raise whilst rewarding the audience with a fair amount of PG-rated skin. They’re even given a leading man – Nathan (Jesse Bernstein), a med school dropout who apparently prefers piloting a pontoon boat instead of performing surgeries – to fawn over in the downtime between Dino-munches. Predictably, Nate proves he’s up to the task: when the chips are down, he emerges packing heat, shooting first (poorly), and asking questions later. Hell, in true Hollywood style, he might find his way out of this glorified mess with a lifelong squeeze in the process.
In the end, Wynorski proves minimally he knows what he’s doing, churning out one more passable Saturday Night cable experience that’ll win no awards but go down easily with a case of beer and pizza. Madsen and Logan are capable screen chewers, but the script truly wastes their masculine talents with silly deadpans, sappy dialogue, and senseless attempts to maybe – maybe – craft a winning retort. None of the ladies are Academy Award caliber here either, though they look impressive in tight shirts and cut-offs when properly photographed to maximum effect. And that underwhelming CGI? Well, you’ve come a long way, baby, but daddy says you might be better appreciated back by audiences back in the Stone Age.
DinoGator (2024) was produced by Vision Films. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Warner Archive and Vision Films. As for the technical specifications? Well … while I’m no trained video expert, I found the provided sights and sounds to be reasonable solid here and there. These aren’t – ahem – barn-burning special effects (and it shows), but they have the requisite charm to produce a chuckle even if none was intended. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Well, alas, you’ll come up empty on that score as the disc boasts nothing. Sad … but it happens.
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive provided me with a complimentary DVD of DinoGator (2024) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
In true nihilist fashion, DinoGator makes only as much sense as it absolutely has to – which isn’t much – existing chiefly to give its trio of lovely young ladies – Roni (Lauren Parkinson), Aubrey (Savannah Goldstein), and Izzie (Grace Roubidoux) – an excuse to hoot, holler, and hell-raise whilst rewarding the audience with a fair amount of PG-rated skin. They’re even given a leading man – Nathan (Jesse Bernstein), a med school dropout who apparently prefers piloting a pontoon boat instead of performing surgeries – to fawn over in the downtime between Dino-munches. Predictably, Nate proves he’s up to the task: when the chips are down, he emerges packing heat, shooting first (poorly), and asking questions later. Hell, in true Hollywood style, he might find his way out of this glorified mess with a lifelong squeeze in the process.
In the end, Wynorski proves minimally he knows what he’s doing, churning out one more passable Saturday Night cable experience that’ll win no awards but go down easily with a case of beer and pizza. Madsen and Logan are capable screen chewers, but the script truly wastes their masculine talents with silly deadpans, sappy dialogue, and senseless attempts to maybe – maybe – craft a winning retort. None of the ladies are Academy Award caliber here either, though they look impressive in tight shirts and cut-offs when properly photographed to maximum effect. And that underwhelming CGI? Well, you’ve come a long way, baby, but daddy says you might be better appreciated back by audiences back in the Stone Age.
DinoGator (2024) was produced by Vision Films. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at Warner Archive and Vision Films. As for the technical specifications? Well … while I’m no trained video expert, I found the provided sights and sounds to be reasonable solid here and there. These aren’t – ahem – barn-burning special effects (and it shows), but they have the requisite charm to produce a chuckle even if none was intended. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Well, alas, you’ll come up empty on that score as the disc boasts nothing. Sad … but it happens.
Alas … only Mildly Recommended.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive provided me with a complimentary DVD of DinoGator (2024) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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