Crocodile (1980 film)
A Thai monster film about a giant crocodile seeking revenge.
Crocodile is a 1980 Thai monster movie directed by Sompote Sands.
Two Bangkok doctors, Tony Akom and John Stromm, are often away from their wives due to overwork. While the couples vacation in Pattaya, both women are killed in the water. Examining the remains and old news reports, Tony concludes the killer is a giant crocodile, possibly mutated by recent atomic bomb tests. Seeking revenge, Tony and John recruit a fisherman named Tanaka to help pursue the creature with his boat.
After the crocodile destroys a riverside village, authorities set a large underwater trap, but it fails. Tony, John, and Tanaka head to sea, using chemical compounds to lure the crocodile. They are joined by a photographer, Peter, who wants to document the destruction. That night, the crocodile attacks their boat, killing Tanaka. Tony and John wound it with gunfire, but the crocodile sinks the ship, killing John. Peter straps dynamite to himself, swims into the crocodile’s jaws, and the monster is destroyed in a massive explosion, apparently killing everyone aboard.
The international version, produced by Dick Randall, differs heavily from Sands’ original cut. It extends a hurricane scene from another Chaiyo production, moves the crocodile’s attack on water buffalo to later in the film, and adds a new opening credits scene (shot by Randall) of the crocodile eating two naked women. Outtakes from another Chaiyo film, *Krai Thong*, are inserted, including a scene where three children are eaten. The crocodile’s attack on a riverside village is split into two separate scenes. The ending also changes: in the Thai version, Tony destroys the crocodile by throwing a dynamite fuse into its jaws; in the international version, Peter’s self-sacrifice causes the explosion. When Randall’s version was distributed in the US by Herman Cohen, further edits replaced the opening credits and end card. The American Humane Association rated the film unacceptable due to a scene where a live crocodile is slashed to death with a knife.
The film reached No. 11 in the US, according to *Variety* magazine’s weekly Top 50 Grossing Films chart, which predated weekend box office reporting.
- director
- Sompote Sands
- country
- Thailand
- release_year
- 1980
- genre
- Monster film
- notable_versions
- Thai original cut and international version by Dick Randall
- US_box_office_peak
- No. 11 on Variety's Top 50 Grossing Films chart
Lore & Background
The plot centers on doctors Tony Akom (Nat Puvani) and John Stromm (Min Oo), whose spouses are killed by a giant crocodile while vacationing in Pattaya. After discovering the creature may have been mutated by atomic bomb tests, they enlist fisherman Tanaka (Manop Asavatep) to hunt it. The crocodile destroys a riverside village, evades an underwater trap, and attacks their boat, killing Tanaka and John. Photographer Peter straps himself with dynamite and swims into the crocodile's jaws, destroying the monster in an explosion.
Reader's Guide
The film is notable for its multiple versions. The international version, produced by Dick Randall, differs significantly from Sompote Sands' original cut: it includes a longer hurricane sequence, a new opening credits scene with the crocodile devouring naked women, outtakes from another Chaiyo film (Krai Thong), and an altered ending where Peter's self-sacrifice causes the explosion (instead of Tony throwing a dynamite fuse). The American Humane Association rated the film unacceptable due to a scene where a live crocodile is slashed to death. The film reached No. 11 on Variety's Top 50 Grossing Films chart, predating modern weekend box office reporting.
Did You Know?
- The international version includes outtakes from another Chaiyo film, Krai Thong, which also features giant crocodiles.
- The American Humane Association rated the film unacceptable due to a scene in which a live crocodile is slashed to death with a knife.
- The hurricane at the beginning of the international version was originally filmed for another Chaiyo production, Land of Grief (Pandin Wippayoke).
- The film reached No. 11 in the US on Variety's weekly Top 50 Grossing Films chart.
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