Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

sonya90028 Of all the films that the late Claudia Jennings made in the 70s, Gator Bait is the trashiest. It's about a gorgeous Cajun alligator poacher named Desire(Jennings), and her quest for vengeance on the redneck scum, who killed her younger sister. Desire lives in a backwoods swamp area, presumably in Louisiana or thereabouts. She poaches alligators as a living, and takes care of her two younger siblings. The three are orphans, with no other family to depend on for sustenance. One day when Desire is out poaching 'gators, she's ambushed by the local Sheriff's son, and his accomplice. The two attempt to rape Desire, and so she leads them on a merry boat chase through the swamp. They corner Desire, and she throws snakes that she caught into their boat. This allows Desire to escape their clutches. But the Sheriff's son accidentally kills his companion with a shotgun, when trying to shoot at the snakes in their boat. The Sheriff's son blames Desire for the killing of his companion. So then his father, along with the father of the dead guy, launch an all-out hunt for Desire in the swamp. Along the way, another of the rednecks hunting for Desire, goes to her cabin to look for her. Desire's little sister is there, and she's brutally murdered by the redneck. From then on, Desire becomes the hunter rather than the hunted, as she's determined to make the rednecks pay for killing her sister. Claudia Jennings is her usual voluptuous self in this film. Her hair and and make-up though, are too perfect for her role as a swamp-dwelling alligator poacher. Claudia did have the grace and athleticism, to handle the physically demanding role of Desire. The other actors, except for Janit Baldwin as Desire's sister, are dull and lifeless in their roles. The scenery in this film is decent, and realistically conveys the oppressive atmosphere, of a backwoods swamp.Gator Bait is a cult drive-in classic, no doubt due mainly to Claudia Jennings being in the starring role. Overall, this movie comes off as being ham-fisted and brutal, in its portrayal of the vicious redneck characters. For Claudia Jennings fans, the film is worth watching. But otherwise, Gator Bait has no other redeeming qualities about it at all.

Steve Nyland (Squonkamatic) You know in reality this movie is *NOT* as patently offensive or disturbing as the naysayers may have you believe. It is tasteless, lunk-headed, vacuous and exploitational as they come, but THAT IS THE POINT OF THE FILM. To expect a movie called 'GATOR BAIT in a decorated box featuring a swamp slut bedecked in tattered flimsy Daisy Dukes to be anything other is like, stupid.So if you give 'GATOR BAIT a try and are dumb enough to be offended by it don't come crying to us -- What did you expect, SCHINDLER'S LIST or THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WIFE? This is "Hickspoitation", a sadly missed sub-genre of 1970s/1980s exploitation cinema aimed squarely at the Drive-In sect where backwoods cracker trash and their inbred, uncivilized behavior is the main draw. The ultimate Hicksploitation film is still DELIVERANCE which escapes the label because it actually is in good taste, plausible, populated by credible character actors and made by professionals. 'GATOR BAIT is from the other polar end of the spectrum of Hicksploitation with more in common with films like BACKWOODS (aka GEEK) or the King of Hicksploitation Horror, Troma Films' MOTHER'S DAY. They are celebrations of poor taste and should only be viewed by audiences who are either immune to being offended, or are looking to be offended by something. Anything.I did not find 'GATOR BAIT to be offensive but I see how people could fall into the trap of being repulsed by it. There is a theme of misogynistic brutality running from beginning to end, hintings of incest, a couple of near rapes that end in over the top violence, and cracker trash humor that pokes fun at backwoods redneck Cajun misfits with a kind of gleeful abandon. My favorite moment of sleaze in the film is when three cracker brothers eye their buxom sister lustfully as she hangs up the washin' wearing nothing but an old slip, and one of them drawls out "Jolene, I likes the way you're slidin' around inside a' that." One of the other brothers snickers distastefully as he chomps on an apple & watches as his brother tackles Jolene in the slippery barnyard mud and tries to have his way with her. Hooo-wee!! That is until Pa comes over to give the boy a whuppin' with his bull whip, snarling "How many times do I have to tell you to leave your sister alone?" Pa is played by veteran cult actor Sam Gillman, still wearing the same dungarees and jeans jacket he wore in 1972's BLOOD SABBATH and would later also wear in EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE. He was a marvelous character actor who only required a role for him to inhabit with what he had, and he easily dominates the film as a resourceful, educated cracker who is evil for sure (he kills the county sheriff after a scuffle over some male dominance hierarchy issue) but still has a code of right & wrong that he insists everybody else live by as well. He is the best actor in the cast and brings a kind of authority to the film that is most welcomed.The other standout character in the film is easily Claudia Jennings' "Desiree", the bread winner of a family of Cajun crackers who make their living by poaching, live outside of the law, yet are "good" hicks compared to the dirt bag rednecks who come after them due to the lying cowardice of the sheriff's son, who frames Desiree for murder after accidentally shooting one of his foul minded buddies dead. After some setup distastefulness and minimal background story the film devolves into an extended hunt of Desiree through the Louisiana Bayous where she kills off the posse of crackers one by one -- or inspires them to murder each other. The acting is atrocious, the violence and sexual misogyny appropriately stomach churning, but that is exactly what the film called for and you can't blame it for delivering.One curious thing about this community of swamp rats: The guys all look like the toothless Mountain Man from DELIVERANCE but the women all look like Penthouse magazine models, slinking around in tattered, tight cutoff jeans or one-piece dresses designed to show off their pert breasts, to die for figures and doe-like "Say Yes" eyes. Why the rednecks would want to kill someone who looks like a Centerfold of the Year is perhaps best left unquestioned lest the answer point in the direction of the hog pen. In spite of it's outward stupidity and complete lack of good taste (including the musical score, which is like bad Ry Cooder on the cheap) the film is actually pretty well-made, with competent if uninspired cinematography that always seems to find room in the camera angles for a stunning view of Ms. Jennings' derrière as she stretches and strains against what's left of those tattered cutoff jeans. That the film inspired a sequel ('GATOR BAIT 2: CAJUN JUSTICE) is not surprising, and with any hope it will be at least as objectionable, thick-skulled and shamefully entertaining as this. One can only hope ...6/10: To be watched in the company of loud friends with plenty of beer.

WolfishEyez Okay, where do I begin? I was walking through my local Hollywood video, when I noticed this movie in the 10 for $10 VHS bin. It looked so raunchy that my fiancé and I simply had to buy it (it was either that or The King's Whore). We interpreted it as "soft-core porn" before our viewing of the movie, but now, we've done a complete 180.It wasn't classifiable as "soft-core porn," because porn has better dialogue, better acting,and superior special effects. Not to mention better music. Such artistic geniuses in this film's screenplay include Desiree's frequent use of the phrase, "Ye-hawwwwwwww!!!!!", and my favorite line, "I be back in two, three, day." Let's not forget the incredible death of Billy, when he got shot and made that sound like a twenty-year old bloodhound crapping out peach pits. Then, of course, Leroy's death was even better. He got shot in the chest and made a sound like a ninety-year old gargling beer.How about the spectacular stunt coordinator, who was so proud of his work, that he left his name out of the credits, and the husband/wife director/writer/producer team. You know that they did it all because no one else would touch it with a ten-foot pole.Let's elaborate more on the Oscar-winning performance of Claudia Jennings, may she rest in peace after the acting sin she committed in this film. This former playboy playmate said less than twenty words in the entire film, and disappointed men everywhere when she failed to get naked in the first five minutes. If it weren't for the potato sack blowing in the wind, most of them would have given up. We did, of course, get to see plenty of Janit Baldwin's thirteen-lookin' year old self as she bathed in the "clean" swamp waters. I wouldn't be surprised if the FBI came knocking on my door and arrested me for viewing child pornography.Then, if the Louisiana Cajun playmate ain't enough for you, let's add in who we called "The perv." In the first ten minutes of the film he was trying to rape some girl in a white dress while she was hanging up the laundry in the middle of the lawn, when his daddy came out and told him to get his hands off his sister. Wow, I wish my family was that f***ed up.Let's summarize. Blowing sacks, incest and crapping peach pits in Cajun country make this one hell of a family film. I hear Disney is even making an animated version

gridoon This film was ineptly directed, badly acted and poorly written. It was artless junk, populated exclusively by moronic and unpleasant characters. But the most depressing thought that crossed my mind while I was watching this film is that, unfortunately, grade-Z exploitationers like this often develop a cult reputation, just because they are so bad and sleazy and amateurish. Any smart viewer will know better, of course.