Editorials
‘Alligator’: Remembering the Brilliant ‘Jaws’ Satire from 1980
It’s always fun to reminisce on the media of your youth and trace the bloody trails of your lifelong fears back to their origins.
Me, I’ve always been anxious around bodies of water. The ocean in particular fascinates me as much as it terrifies me. It’s not a potent enough fear to be a phobia, but a certain…elemental unease has always existed within me regarding the mysteries of the depths.
You can thank Jaws for that. I tell anyone who will listen that seeing Spielberg’s immortal classic instilled a permanent scar on my psyche thanks to exposure at the tender age of four. That film is the foundation. The root. The bedrock of all of my personal heebie-jeebies.
When I think back a little harder, though, it’s not just Jaws that planted my fear of all thing aquatic. Every significant piece of film or television that genuinely frightened me as a child had something to do with the water…and whatever horror was lurking underneath it.
One such film is the cult classic Alligator. And one scene in particular was forever seared into my memory as a child.
I ate up creature-features of all sorts as kid. Anything that had to do with animals chomping on people was so very much my shit. The Jaws rip-offs were all gems in my eyes. I couldn’t get enough of them and Alligator is no exception. Directed by genre journeyman Lewis Teague (Cujo, Cat’s Eye) and penned by the venerable John Sayles (Piranha, The Howling), Alligator is considered one of the best of the Jaws inspired flicks to follow in the wake of that classic.
Riffing on the “alligators in the sewers” urban legend, John Sayles didn’t just pen an easy cash-grab knock-off of Jaws. He wanted to say something with it.
Alligator and its sequel (Alligator II: The Mutation) played fairly regularly on TV when I was a kid, and I would watch it every time I happened upon it while channel surfing. And with every viewing, I would wait in dread for one scene to happen…
During a birthday party two kids dressed as pirates are making a third, blindfolded kid “walk the plank” as they force him onto the diving board of the backyard pool. It’s nighttime. The pool is dark. The kid is scared already. As the two pirates taunt and jab the victim in their play, the kid removes his blindfold just in time for the pool light to be switched on, revealing the massive maw of the titular alligator opening wide to welcome his nighttime snack.
The two pirates, not seeing the gator at first, push the kid to certain death. We see the gator overtake the child underwater. The child-pirates are struck by abject terror when they see what they’ve just done.
It’s a brief scene, but it’s by far the most visceral and horrifying of the film while also retaining a sense of the tongue-in-cheek edge Sayles’ horror scripts are known for. “Bet you didn’t think we’d go there, did you,” the pool scene seems to smirk at the audience.
It’s that snarky flavor that permeates the film and makes it work as the tongue-in-cheek riff on Jaws it was conceived as. Most of the beats from Spielberg’s blockbuster are present but subverted in fun ways. Our Brody stand-in is Detective Madison (Robert Forster) who imbues the role with a performance that skirts the lines of sincerity and knowing sardonic charisma. The Matt Hooper of the show is reptile expert Marisa Kendell (Robin Riker) who Madison begins a relationship with. It is rather enjoyable seeing Brody and Hooper stand-ins become lovers.
What if Quint was a showboating blowhard completely in over his head? That’s where Col. Brock (Henry Silva) comes in with all his smarmy charm. Then what if the local officials were more than just incompetents looking out for their bottom line – but downright evil assholes who the alligator slaughters in an act that can only be defined as nature’s vengeance?
The satirical edge of Alligator isn’t given enough credit for being as clever as it is. The entire film plays like an urban-set send-up of the near-mythic narrative of Jaws. Where Spielberg told a serious, earnest tale of man vs. nature, Sayles and Teague take that blueprint and splash a heavy dose of cynicism all over it. While Jaws contains themes of the petty interests of small town politics, Alligator takes that theme and runs with it to take shots at Big Pharma and how government kowtows to the highest bidder all the while the average person is eaten alive in the struggle – in this case quite literally.
The tone of the film walks a tightrope balancing the genuine menace and horror of the gator and the sardonic bent of the script. It’s about as tightly crafted as creature-features get. The effects are a product of their time, but still retain their charms. The shots of a real alligator walking on miniature sets are gloriously lo-fi. Think Night of the Lepus but with scales.
Alligator has stood the test of time for horror fans. It was a beloved staple of cable viewing back in the day and fans have yearned for years and years for the film to get the physical media attention it deserves. Thanks to Scream Factory’s recent 4K release, the film is widely available to share with a whole new generation of fans. And it’s well worth the viewing.
A new month means a new guide as titles are added (and dropped) from streaming services. Let’s unpack the most exciting titles that are available to watch on Tubi in July 2026.
New to Tubi July Horror Films
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
- Premise: Searching for a cure to Alzheimer’s disease, a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the prey as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back.
- Why Watch It? Let’s be frank: Director Renny Harlin has made some absolute dogs in the last few years (the less said about The Strangers trilogy the better, though this year’s Deep Water was actually ok). Deep Blue Sea remains one of the Finnish director’s best contemporary efforts, though. Between the great cast (Samuel L. Jackson, Saffron Burrows, Stellan Skarsgård, Michael Rapaport, LL Cool J, Thomas Jane, and Jane’s sleeveless wetsuit), the ridiculous premise, and that damn/dumb song (“My hat is like a shark’s fin”), you basically can’t go wrong with Deep Blue Sea. It’s one of two great shark films gliding onto Tubi this month, so why not stay out of the water and watch this instead?
- Streaming: July 1
Exorcist II: Heretic (1977)
- Premise: Reagan (Linda Blair), a girl once possessed by a demon, finds that it still lurks within her. Meanwhile, Father Lamont (Richard Burton) investigates the death of the priest who performed her exorcism.
- Why Watch It? August sees the release of documentary Boorman and the Devil, which is about the troubled production of this sequel. The notoriety surrounding Heretic has undoubtedly kept plenty of horror fans away from the sequel, but this truly is a “seeing is believing” kind of film. Real talk: it’s undeniably a disaster, but the John Boorman film has also become a minor cult film. Don’t you want to see it to make up your own mind?
- Streaming: July 1
Hostel: Part III (2011)
- Premise: Four men attending a bachelor party in Las Vegas fall prey to the Elite Hunting Club, who are hosting a gruesome game show of torture.
- Why Watch It? What does Hostel look like without Eli Roth? Part III kinda answers the question. Technically Roth is still a writer, but he hands over the directorial reins to Scott Spiegel (best known for acting in Evil Dead films). The result is a film with a terrible pedigree; it’s also the first (and last) entry to skip theatres before the franchise was permanently shelved (until that TV show with Paul Giamatti shows up?). For some horror fans, however, there’s something exciting about a bad low-budget sequel. Just bear in mind that the Hostel: Part III‘s biggest star is Kip Pardue…so adjust your expectations accordingly before hitting play.
- Streaming: July 1
Insidious 1-3 (2010/2013/2015)
- Premise: A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.
- Why Watch It? It’s hard to believe that the sixth (!) Insidious movie is coming out in a month and a half, but James Wan and Leigh Whannell‘s other horror franchise has been steadily chugging along for sixteen years. It’s a shame that Tubi doesn’t have all five films available to watch, but in terms of quality, you can do far worse than the original trio. The first film is iconic, and the second is basically an extended coda (with some admittedly problematic stuff going on). I’ll go to bat for Whannell’s 2015 directorial debut, though: there’s a few banger sequences in that film that people slept on.
- Streaming: July 1
Man Finds Tape (2025)
- Premise: After finding mysterious video clips, siblings investigate the strange recordings and uncover a disturbing secret spreading through their Texas town.
- Why Watch It? Writer/directors Paul Gandersman and Peter S. Hall‘s well-received found footage film did an extensive tour of the festival circuit, so now is a great time to check out one of the most contemporary titles debuting on Tubi this month. Surely a title that hails from producers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Spring and The Endless) is worth a free look?
- Streaming: July 2
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
- Premise: A depressed musician Adam (Tom Hiddleston) reunites with his lover Eve (Tilda Swinton). However, their romance, which has already endured several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska).
- Why Watch It? This beautiful, melancholy vampire film is courtesy of writer/director Jim Jarmusch, who doesn’t often dabble in genre fare. As always, some will quibble if this artsy drama qualifies as horror, but the existential ennui of an eternal life certainly qualifies (bonus: there’s also something inherently sexy about watching Hiddleston and Swinton just lay about). Plus: if Leviticus has you hankering for more Wasikowska, this is an under the radar pick.
- Streaming: July 1
The Shallows (2016)
- Premise:A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy (Blake Lively) is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.
- Why Watch It? What better time to watch a shark movie than July? The temperatures are soaring and the idea of escaping into the water is so tantalizing. This tight, contained thriller features a great performance by Lively (and that damn seagull!), but it’s the direction from genre fave Jaume Collet-Serra (Orphan; the House of Wax remake) that keeps the movie clicking along like clockwork. At 86 minutes, this is a perfect summer flick.
- Streaming: July 1
Vacancy (2007)
- Premise: Stranded in an isolated motel, a couple (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) become the unsuspecting subjects of a snuff film.
- Why Watch It? I’m not going to pretend that this Nimród Antal-directed home invasion film is high art, but it is a good time. You’ll likely wish there were deeper characterizations for Wilson and Beckinsale’s David and Amy in Mark L. Smith‘s screenplay, but this mid-aughts thriller is tense, exciting, and just the right amount of grimy. Plus: another short runtime, clocking in at an expeditious 85 minutes!
- Streaming: July 1
July Tubi Originals
The One Next Door (2026)
- Premise: When a mysterious stranger moves in next door to Robert and Tabitha, boundaries are tested, loyalty is questioned, and danger comes for all.
- Streaming: July 10
I Know Where You Live (2026)
- Premise: Sarah thinks she’s found “the one” until his flaws emerge. When she pulls away, chilling threats suggest he’s watching her from inside her own home.
- Streaming: July 24
What’s your favorite from the list above? Will you check out the new Original? Sound off in the comments below
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