By Dvaid Dent
Four years after director James Nunn carted us all off to Mexico (although actually shot in Malta) for the so so predatory shenanigans of 2022’s Shark Bait, he now whisks us away to the Louisiana swamplands (ok it’s Malta again) for his latest creature feature.
Just fired Sistine (Madison Davenport) and her bestie Hannah (Olivia Bernstone) are partying in a bar when hunky Rodrigo (Michel Curiel) encourages them onto a swamp tour where they’re guaranteed to see some gators.
The following morning the hungover girls join a tiny boat full of the usual disaster movie types, including stuffily dressed entitled businesswoman Dionne (Tracey Bonner) hoping to capture a glimpse of the swamp’s resident bad boy gator Big Ben; there’s also bored young Mike (River Codack), his doting mum Sally (Samantha Coughlan), and her father Tim (Jim Meskimen.
The boat heads off into the swamp but away from the agreed route; a backhander has been given to the inexperienced Rodrigo for a better look at the gator, which results in the boat miles away from civilisation, at which point a) the remains of Big Ben are seen, its huge body gutted by something even bigger and b) the group eventually learn that there’s a hungry hippo abroad (and yes that is a reference to the game; I think this is a sly entry in some universe or other). Some handy exposition tells us that the hippos are veggies but prone to attack perceived predators (ie the cast) and that they were originally introduced to the area as gator food but have evolved as a dominant species.
And that’s all you need to know as the boat party get capsized, hang out in the trees for safety, and face their own personal demons (interestingly it’s only the women that have traumatic back stories); oh and predictably fuckup Sistine comes good for the final reel.
Nunn cleverly interlaces stock shots from the Louisiana swamps with the Malta filmed footage to provide a convincing sense of location (even if the – pretty convincing – hippo action is minimal and there’s a lot of character drama among the stranded gator watchers) and the cast are good value. This is a fun flick that might not stand up to regular rewatching, but Nunn knows what he’s doing and, more importantly, not to exceed limitations.
Bloody Flicks 