From the director of The Abomination comes this insane sci-fi comedy horror film feature two horror icons.

Dr. Kildare has taken the lead on a new experiment by the military. The idea was to turn soldiers to be able to transport into various places through a device. However, a glitch in the experimentation has caused the soldiers to turn into females. On top of that, another experiment, in which Dr. Goodbody is experimenting to test the libidos of soldiers. Colonel Sanders is not happy with the results of the experiment, but things are about to get worse.

The changed soldiers would undergo a major transformation when they find themselves libidinous. They become half-human, half-gator creatures. Causing death and destruction, the creatures wreak havoc on the base and it is up to Dr. Kildare and rivals Dr. Fields and Dr. Oliver to work together to stop the madness before it’s too late. 

At time of the release, Bret McCormick had already carved a niche as a producer and director of microbudget horror and sci-fi films. Going a different route than his 1986 splatterfest The Abomination, McCormick wanted to make a sci-fi comedy horror that looks to have various influences from 50’s B-movies with a dose of Cat People mixed in only to replace panthers with lizard-hybrid creatures. 

The film’s marketing promotes two horror icons in more extended cameos to add to the original 75-minute cut of the film. The late Gunnar Hansen, who will forever be known as the original Leatherface of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, plays Dr. Kildare in a more comical manner as opposed as to what you normally would expect from the horror legend. The other comes in the form of scream queen Brinke Stevens, who plays Dr. Goodbody, who is doing a different experiment involving the libidos of soldiers. This is one of the final times we see the icon in a topless role as she has been still involved in the genre as both an actress and director nowadays. 

The story itself is pretty ridiculous, but let’s face it. That’s why we watch these movies. It feels like a tame Troma feature, with more eye candy and little bits of blood here. The CGI effects are actually pretty decent for 1998 and yes, the practical effects of the lizard creatures look ok for its budget. Surprisingly, it doesn’t have as much nudity or topless scenes as one would think. It’s not a softcore film after all. But somehow, it all works out in the finale. 

RepliGator is wacky and absurd, but with the appearances of Gunnar Hansen and Brinke Stevens, you can’t help but want to see this crazy movie from the mind of Bret McCormick. Reptiles, nubiles, sci-fi, experiments gone wrong. How could you not watch?

WFG RATING: B+

Visual Vengeance presents a Whacked! production. Director: Bret McCormick. Producers: Bret McCormick, David Stephens, and Wynn Winberg. Writers: Keith Kjornes, T.G. Weems, and Wynn Winberg. Cinematography: Shawn Freeburg and Wynn Winberg. Editing: Haley Richter and Wynn Winberg.

Cast: Gunnar Hansen, Keith Kjornes, Randy Clower, T.J. Myers, Carl Merritt, Rocky Patterson, Brinke Stevens, T.G. Weems, Grady Niblo, James Michael Taylor, Janet Elaine, T. Seret Gomez.

The film will be released on Special Collector’s Blu-Ray on September 26 from Visual Vengeance.