Alligator

Ramon, the eponymous star, is flushed down the pan as a baby, grows to an inordinate size by feeding on the corpses of pets used in hormone experiments (plus the odd sewer worker), and finally hits the streets looking for food and action. The basic angle to John Sayles' script (dubious scientific research leading to a dangerous freak of nature) is a reworking of his 1978 Piranha, but the sense of humour, narrative economy and attention to character are as sharp and fresh as you could wish. No prizes for guessing that Ramon finally devours the shady hand that unwittingly fed him, or that the cop on his tail literally blows the lid off his own guilt problems, but Sayles and Teague never stint on incidental pleasures. The result is an effective and unpretentious treat.