It’s flood season in Louisana and a hurricane forces some alligators into regions they usually aren’t. The Flood is set up as a survival thriller combining a busload of prisoners, guards, and the remaining town randoms to circumnavigate life and death.
Directed by Brandon Slagle (Frost, a baffling film that used soap suds for snow), “The Flood” struggles to pack a punch. Co-writers Josh Ridgeway (Section Eight) and Chad Law (6 Bullets) make sure we know just how tough these jailbirds are as they find themselves stranded in the middle of the mess instead of in Federal Prison.
We get flashcards of why they are on their way to prison and for how long. Meanwhile, local entrepreneurs of crime are busy getting ready to take advantage of the chaos. This group of money cowboys gathers their arsenal while also preparing to free at least one of the jail enthusiasts.
Interestingly, the trailer for The Flood boasts large distributors like Saban Films, Lionsgate, Front Row Filmed Entertainment, and Altitude Film Sales because, in the opening scenes, it’s really easy to see this is not a big-budget film. Instead, if you want to gauge the production value of this particular creature feature you should instead look at Hillin Entertainment’s catalog with titles like Maneater, The Coven, and Auteur.
Alligator Creature Features
The cast of The Flood includes some well-known actors in its portrayal of an alligator movie. Nicky Whelan takes on the role of the town’s sheriff, while Casper Van Dien (known for Mad Heidi), Louis Mandylor (from Rambo: Last Blood), and Devanny Pinn (seen in Pirhana 3D) also make appearances. The scripting and resulting dialogue, although mostly serving as filler, manage to be not overly bothersome. The film wisely keeps conversations to a minimum, although it does go overboard with the on-screen narrative.
There’s no denying a lack of knowledge toward citing confusion about obvious things such as flooding and wind. A quick Google search from Australia revealed that Louisiana is very well-known for Hurricanes and no stranger to floods. The police depot, the motley crew ends up in, is one of the most ill-prepared places I have ever seen. Once all the prisoners are inside the station, the audience is again treated to the gangs’ criminal records. Just in case you missed it earlier.
Performances are mostly solid, however, I find it irritating when accents are utilized by actors who can’t make them stick. The central cast, however, held the fort well and was convincing within the simple storyline. Alligators appear with enough frequency to even out the lulls in pacing. Gore is kept to a minimum with some direct killer gnashing supplied by the creatures as they stalk their prey off-screen.
Sound effects to accompany these CGI-fueled moments are appropriately realistic. Similar to other films that use adjacent production values, the size and scale ratios of the dinosaurs while on-screen vary. Sometimes filmmakers get it right and sometimes they get it very wrong. The fight scene midway felt out of place and went on for far too long.
The Flood 2023, Should I Watch It?
Overall The Flood does a decent enough job of being a creature feature horror movie to pass the time. In contrast to the range of cocaine-induced animal horror, I watched this month, this could be described as a masterpiece in the independent section of movies.
The Flood is rated
2.5 I’ve just been swimming but now I’m dry out of 5
Check out these user comments about “The Flood.” Check out an awesome review on Letterboxd. For a creature feature with spiders, watch Vermines or Sting next.
