Bad CGI Gator

The makers of this movie clearly didn't have enough of a budget to make a convincing monster. But when it's a monster movie, that's kind of a problem. Even if they might have successfully hidden the bad special effects or pooh-poohed it away once or twice, that still wouldn't have been enough. So the film makers just embraced it and wrote the plot of the entire movie around it. You see, this isn't just a poorly constructed monster, it's a tiny alligator that experienced a bunch of short-circuiting school laptops and becomes... Bad CGI Gator. So the CGI is bad, the plot is winking at you bad, and the characters are bad and irredeemably stupid. That's not to say that the acting is bad. The actors do a good job of making characters who are over the top idiots, even for a horror movie, seem realistic. There's a guy who calls himself an alpha male who is just a weak bully, a woman who makes the most bland social media content (and tahini dip) ever, a couple that is sex crazed but not in a healthy way, a stereotypical nerd who acts like a creep and kind of wants to see most everyone die, and the sort-of good girl who thinks that a guy being creepy is flattering and could have saved someone from the gator but is so self-absorbed that she keeps forgetting that the other person even exists. Face it, all of these characters are bad people. There are just a few who are less bad than the others. And that -- and the ridiculousness of a gator who defies reality -- is what makes the film entertaining.

I had to watch this because of the title. I do amateur CGI. It's almost all bad. There's little sign of improvement. If I were smarter, I'd pick a new hobby.

So, here's the plot: three sorority sisters (one decent) and three frat bros (one decent) go to a Cabin in the Woods to get drunk. I can get drunk in my bedroom, but hey, kids these days. The cabin's by a lake. It's a horror movie. There's "Gator" in the title. What do you think happens next? The gator rips the limbs off of the unlikable ones. I don't even consider this a spoiler.

Does anything else happen? No. What else would you want to see happen? It's a horror movie about a poorly animated CGI alligator.

First thing first: is the CGI, in actuality, bad? It *is* bad. But it's not as bad as a lot of CGI in days past. The gator isn't animated very well. Its limbs don't seem to touch the ground. Eventually, the filmmakers give up on pretending that the gator should interact with the ground at all. The electrical effects are also bad. But, hey, it's a lot better than the crap I've made. When you ignore the whole animation and electricity things, it looks pretty good. And who cares? It's not about whether the gator's legs touch the ground. It's about the fact that they don't. And also, it's about how people that use internet acronyms in everyday speech are ripped into small pieces.

Really, this is as B-movie as you'd expect, but Gator never pretends to be anything else. And thanks to the wonder of modern tools, the production quality is still great (well, minus the skating gator legs.) Plus, the acting is certainly good enough. Maddie Lane does an especially good job. Probably the weakest point is the writing, where they earn a few chuckles out of this horror-comedy, but never any guffaws. But, that's not a major criticism for a film that aims as low as Gator.

Don't expect Sophie's Choice, and I think you'll enjoy yourself. It's only like sixty minutes long. What do you have to lose?

Six thirty year old college students go on spring break to a run down isolated cabin in a swamp. Who wouldn't want that experience? They must have booked the cabin a year in advance to get such a great place. Not understanding that spring break isn't the end of the semester, these future student loan debt relief recipients toss their school laptops into the swamp. A crocodile still recovering from shock that anyone would willingly occupy that cabin gets zapped by the shorting out laptop batteries and is magically transformed in a genuinely bad CGI rendering.

The bad CGI crocodile is bad, really bad, yet miles better than the acting. It's indescribably bad. Exceeded only by the dialog. It's indescribably indescribably bad. Ten stars for the crocodile. Minus five stars for the crocodile taking so long to do the audience wants in eliminating the cast. The longest hour you will spend being "entertained". Five stars.

I like to consider myself a connoisseur of low budget horror. It's a fine line to walk-- there are films that know their premise is bad, so the cast and crew don't try; there are others that try too hard to be more than what they're capable of being and end up being boring. There are very few "bad" horror movies where you can tell that everyone involved is truly enjoying themselves-- and that enjoyment elevates the film to something that you truly, unironically enjoy as well.

I've been anxiously awaiting Bad CGI Gator for a month, as it was coming out on my birthday, and it did not disappoint. The low budget did not stop the camera crew from doing a very professional job, and the acting was superb for a comic horror film; although I doubt we'll see any of these actors in the future, I'd be very happy if we did see their careers advance.

The script is charmingly mocking of Gen Z culture, in a way that makes it clear that actual Gen Z people were involved in writing it.

And the gator, oh, the gator! If you came to this review to hear about the eponymous gator, I promise it won't disappoint. There's an in-universe reason the gator is bad CGI, and I promise that the creature's descent from the roof will fulfill every promise the film's name offers.

If none of this compels you, the short run time at worst means it's worth giving it a try, and if you're like me, you'll be left wanting more.

I am a massive fan of a 'B' movie and love finding 'Gems' within the masses released every week.

The acting is on par with most other movies of this kind but the short run time kinda made it feel like the movie ended as it just got started.

Couple of scenes give you a few laughs and the 30+ cast playing teenagers made this have a true 'B' movie feel.

Do I regret watching it? No

Would I watch it again? No

Was the CGI Bad? So bad it was amazing!

Would I watch a sequel? Definitely

Unfortunately this wasn't the 'Gem' I was looking for and only gets the 4 stars, with an extra 20 minutes run time I would have pushed to 5 stars.

Overall it's crap - but in a good way.

It's only an hour so what have you got to loose by giving it a go.

Thanks for reading... Bandit.