Full Moon Features presents a charming slasher-comedy, Bad CGI Gator, from director Danny Draven and screenwriter Zalman Band. Set in Georgia’s swampland, the story concerns six college students staying in a lakeside cabin over spring break. As the college students are ready for mindless fun, a predatory baby alligator stalks the lake. The characters run the gamut of the expected cliches, but that is part of the joke.
Brad (Ben VanderMey) is all for playing beer pong and getting into his girlfriend’s pants. Said girlfriend, Sarah (Rebecca Stoughton), desires more TikTok views, while Pearce (Cooper Drippe) and Paisley (Sarah Buchanan) fawn all over each other. Brad’s stepsister, Hope (Maddie Lane), is dragged on this trip because her mother wants her to get to know her stepbrother’s future fiancée better. Sam (Michael Bonini), an aspiring writer, is there to “fit in” with Brad and his buffoonish friends.
On the second day, Sarah gets the group to film a rebellious toast and throw their laptops in the lake. Sam thinks it’s a ridiculous idea, as these computers belong to the university. After the group leaves, an alligator is electrocuted by one of the laptops and supernaturally grows in size. The evening goes smoothly as everyone plays beer pong until Pearce and Paisley decide to make love by the lake. When Pearce goes inside to get a condom, Paisley is suddenly attacked and dragged away by the gator. It escalates when he goes to find his girlfriend and ends up headless by the carnivorous reptile. Who will be eaten next?
“As the college students are ready for mindless fun, a predatory baby alligator stalks the lake.”
Bad CGI Gator is a future cult classic, and it is all due to Band’s hilarious screenplay and Draven’s playful direction. The screenplay works due to the lampooning of Gen Z stereotypes and slapstick-style kills by the memorable CGI gator. Band also develops a believable romance between Sam and Hope. These characters double as the “straight men” and the audience’s point-of-view in this zany world. Draven brings out memorable performances from his cast. Stoughton plays Sarah perfectly as the bimbo influencer stereotype, and Bonini channels his inner Michael J. Fox for his naïve portrayal of Sam.
Jojo Draven’s score is a careful balance of suspense and comic timing. Thomas L. Callaway’s seamless cinematography adds verisimilitude to the CGI gator, especially in the night scenes. David Matherly’s visual effects elevate the titular gator from a generic animal antagonist to a chaotic scene-stealer. The gator is infused with the menace of Jaws and Looney Tunes energy.
Bad CGI Gator is a phenomenal film to laugh at with friends. It simultaneously proves that B-movies can both be wacky and deliver original entertainment! Be prepared for a horror film spiced with bonkers characters, witty double entendres, a hint of screwball comedy, and some delicious kills.
"…works due to the lampooning of Gen Z stereotypes and slapstick kills by the memorable CGI gator."
