‘Terror, rendered too cheaply…’
Bad CGI Gator is a 2023 American comedy horror film in which six college grads on Spring Break get a cabin in the swamplands of Georgia. Once there, they decide to throw their school laptops in a backyard lake in an act of youthful defiance, which unknowingly turns a lurking alligator into the dreaded and insatiable… Bad CGI Gator!
Directed by Danny Draven (Restitution; Weedjies: Halloweed Night; Patient Seven; Reel Evil; The Offerings; Aliens Gone Wild; Dark Walker; DeathBed) from a screenplay written by Zalman Band. Produced by Charles Band.
The latter commented, “I’ve long been against the overuse of CGI in genre films, and in many ways, this movie is a fun, tongue-in-cheek antidote to that. When done right, CGI is a great tool to accent special effects. When done wrong… well, we get Bad CGI Gator! Get ready!”
Plot:
Six unlikely friends head down to a cabin for spring break to party it up. While filming a viral video for Tiktok, they throw their laptops into the lake, with the resulting electricity spark causing a massive growth and skills burst for the local alligator.
With its newfound girth and an amazing ability to float in mid-air, the ‘gator stalks the teens one by one until it meets its match in the virgin couple of Hope and Sam.
Our review:
You have to love it when a movie tells you, straight up, what you can expect from it. And know that it’s not lying to you at all. It’s refreshing when a movie is brutally honest. Although I think the CGI could be worse, that’s a story for another day and another movie. This one comes courtesy of Full Moon Features, who up until a few weeks ago I didn’t know were still pumping out movies. But they are, and they are as glorious as ever.
The best part about this film is that it knows what it is, it knows why you are watching, and it gives you exactly what you’re looking for. The characters are obnoxious. But that’s fine because that’s what you’re expecting. If anything, they just camp up to the modern teen stereotypes. And while it seems that they’re an oddball collection, at least the movie bothers to explain why.
Then you’ve got the main event: the gator! And wow they weren’t lying when they said bad CGI – but all things considered it actually could have been a lot worse!
Poorly animated, and barely fitting into the scenes, the ridiculousness of the gator makes this a hilariously good time. And just to make it even more of a riot, the filmmakers have given the gator the ability to float in the air, which leads to some humourous dialogue from the survivors, and the ability to both grow and shrink. I won’t spoil how it does that, but suffice to say, it’s quite clever. I didn’t expect to say that about a movie like this.
If you like campy movies, movies that are so bad they’re good and movies that don’t attempt to do anything other than what the title says, then you’re going to have a rollickingly good time with this film. The only real issue is that it’s too short, at 58 minutes you can barely call this a movie, but that just means it doesn’t outstay its welcome. I would recommend this in a heartbeat.
MOVIES & MANIA guest review via The Arty Dans
Other reviews:
“At a technical level, Gator is good, but not great. It’s consistently well-lit, with some inspired editing choices keeping it fresh and enticing to watch. The music is professional, though it leans slightly goofier than it should, which doesn’t help the groan-worthy comedy in the last half to land. Even Danny Draven’s directing is laudable for the performances he manages to get out of his cast.” Contra Zoom Pod
“Bad CGI Gator is a parody of bad movies, but it is also an entertaining example of one. It made me laugh consistently throughout, and I would recommend it to fans of B-movies and people who enjoy laughable animal-attack movies […] For everyone else, Bad CGI Gator is a silly horror comedy that is a quick and easy watch at only 58 minutes long.” Creepy Catalog
“The bad CGI gator is the real audience grabber here. When the gator bites the laptops the group ignorantly threw in the water, it starts to electrocute him, and he grows a few sizes. Ironically, the CGI gets better when he grows bigger. Maybe it’s just because more detail can be seen when it enlarges and looks like it actually has a design.” Disappointment Media
“If you go into this expecting anything really good, I have to point you to the parable of the scorpion and the frog: you knew it was a Full Moon movie called Bad CGI Gator when you started carrying it across the river. It’s still only 50 minutes, so even if you don’t like it, it’s not that much of a slog to get through and still manages to pull some laughs out for how absolutely goofy some of the performances are (and of course, yes, the funny gator model).” Horror Press
“The film’s pacing is carefully controlled, concluding the story just as its deliberate absurdity threatens to overstay its welcome. This attention to rhythm results in a movie that appeals to dedicated fans of the genre and casual viewers looking for a light-hearted cinematic experience. No matter how lousy anything about the movie is, you can’t be made because it’s all over with before you can process it.” ★★★★ Overly Honest Music Reviews
“Yes, the gator floats through the air. It’s insane looking, but fully within the realm of bad CGI. Everything unfolds as you’d expect, but this bottom-of-the-barrel production is not quite as bottom-of-the-barrel as you’d expect. Great performances, a weird gator, and an incredibly short run time (58 minutes) make Bad CGI Gator time well spent!” ★★★ The Scariest Things
“It’s nearly impossible to judge a movie that’s aware of how terrible it is, though there are some amusing moments and performances. Runs less than an hour yet somehow feels much longer.” 2 out of 4, Splatter Critic
“Bad CGI Gator runs just under an hour, which is something I don’t have a problem with in and of itself, as it lets the film play out before the central premise wears thin […] if you can get through the first fifteen minutes, Bad CGI Gator is a quick and easy way to get a snack-sized dose of beasts, blood, and breasts with a bit of humour mixed in for good measure.” ★★★ Voices from the Balcony
YouTube reviews:
Teaser:
Trailer:
Release date:
Full Moon Features released Bad CGI Gator on November 24, 2023.
Related:
ATTACK OF THE METH GATOR The Asylum’s Cocaine Bear mockbuster
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