Director: Paul Dale
Year: 2022
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature; Horror/Comedy
Plot:
After a series of savage animal attacks, the sheriff of a small Louisiana town believes that a wild alligator is loose in the sewers and gathers a crew of hunters and experts to track the creature down and kill it before it rampages through the community killing everyone it comes across.
Review:
This was a pretty decent enough genre effort. One of the film's better efforts here is the relatively strong and enjoyable element of cheese throughout here which carries along quite heavily. The idea of the film coming along within a series of highly obvious and unapologetic riffs on numerous genre films means this piles the absurdity on as if a parody of those films with a decidedly over-the-top cheesy charm evident throughout. Not just the generally straightforward nature of the storyline but also the hilarious in-jokes about the situation as well as the characters in the environment, the whole situation here comes off with a delightful mocking nature which is endearing enough over time. That carries over into the action involved in the attacks featured here which manages to capture some of the cheesier elements of the style while still enjoying the cheesy antics featured here which makes this quite likable and enjoyable.
That said, taken as a serious film, there are a few issues here. The main factor with this one is the potentially polarizing setup which could very easily be a distraction and detriment for those that aren't appreciative of the style. Those that are looking for more of a competent and coherent take on the style would be highly disappointed if not outright put off looking at plastic alligator toys or the constantly-changing size of the creatures in the numerous attacks that are passed off as the real creatures in the attacks. That can be a big turn-off, much like the kind of parody humor on display that isn't always funny but also manages to highlight the last remaining flaw in the excessively brief running time. That this barely runs an hour-long without much going for it beyond the parody nature of the storyline and the potentially unfunny comedy featured here might leave the film feeling overlong at the same time as highlighting the lack of storyline present to keep it this short. It's the main feature here holding this one down.
Overview: **.5/5
A fun if problematic cheesy creature feature, there's quite a lot to like here with the silly antics even though the same positives here can very easily be the parts here that bring this down. Those that appreciate the cheesy and silly side of the creature feature genre will have the most to like here while most others should heed caution if not outright avoid.
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