During one Louisiana’s wildest hurricanes, a group of convicts attempts to breakout while in transport from one jail to another. While forced to stay at a local sheriff’s station, they end up facing off with more than wind and rain.
Written by Chad Law and Josh Ridgway and directed by Brandon Slagle, this horror/action/thriller very much knows what it is and the folks behind it knew what they were doing making this natural disaster/nature run amuck film. The film is written and directed pretty much as expected, which is not a bad thing at all here. The film takes what one would expect and turns it into something fun. There’s a lot of water involved, a giant (or more) alligator, and people being eaten alive left and right while the Sherriff and her staff face off against convicts who are eager to get out of there and away. Of course, things get complicated, and the film spends most of its runtime in the one building with the creatures lurking in the water, giving fans of the genre exactly what they came for. And that’s the point. This film is exactly what one wants on a hot summer night, the kind of film you’d expect to see at the drive-in paired up with another water-animal movie.
The cast here is a mix of Brandon Slagle regulars and regulars of these kinds of films. The group is led by Casper Van Dien, Nicki Whelan, and Louis Mandylor, all of whom give performances that work here. They are given an odd situation and make the most of it. Whelan, in particular, shines throughout the film, giving a strong performance for a character needing all the inner strength in the world to face off not only against gators, but also against criminals willing to hurt or kill her to get their way. She’s representing the law, but also is one of the rare few women here, having much more to do than the other ladies in the cast. Her performance steals the show here and she’s so much fun to watch. Of course, Van Dien and Mandylor do what they’ve been doing best lately, leading some action and giving leading men vibes.
Let’s have a moment here for the special effects. Some of them are fantastic, some not so much, which is too bad, but clearly more due to budget than lack of wanting to create magical CGI. In general, the film has some decent effects considering budget and production time, but one would have hoped for more gator carnage with more blood. Of course, this small issue does not take away from the film as a whole as once you get into it, you really get into it and can forget there are issues here and there. Of course, the cinematography here counts for a lot as well. The work by Niccolo De La Fere helps give the film the right look and scenes are approached in the best way possible, helping to keep the gators a bit hidden while helping them be scarier.
The Flood is very much a giant animal run amuck film with a natural disaster background. It’s fun, it’s a popcorn film perfect for a summer night when it’s too hot out to be bothered with the world. It’s the kind of film to watch with friends and enjoy the carnage. The opening sequence starring Devanny Pinn in a cameo very much sets the tone for the film and lets the viewer know what kind of film to expect.