Magic Marmalade ● 25th Jul 2021
| | Rated 7/10Too good a film for what it is.
...By that, I mean, this is a basic sea-creature feature type of thing, like you've seen a thousand times before, most notably in the shape of the original gold standard Jaws, through to Alligator (Remember that! :) - which this basically is, in new digitally enhanced trousers), Piranha, Sharknado perhaps, Mega Pirnaha, and etc. and etc. and so on, and so forth. - Except, the film-makers have gone about this with production values as if it was an Oscar contender!
Mercifully, it's not over-long, and is very entertaining and enjoyable, with a basic set-up, of young woman... (Who purely coincidentally, happens to be a swimming prodigy... what are the chances!?!) ... venturing deep into a disaster area caused by a hurricane induced flood, to rescue / recover her dad, who has stayed behind, and become incommunicado...
(meaning all the other locals have been evacuated, and the big nasty Alligator gang has had the opportunity to move in.... yikes!)
But some very good decisions, make this film work, it doesn't try to encompass the whole weather / disaster movie epic scope, but keeps the action very tightly focused around the house, in which they are trapped with the big green meanies lurking around.
...This makes for a more claustrophobic movie based more on tension than the usual gore-fest you usually get from these movies.
(There is some gore, but shot at a some distance for the most part, and artfully, and occasionally done.)
And so it mainly rests on the two lead actors here, who really are good - Kaya Scodelario carries the full weight of the film convincingly, and Barry Pepper gives strong support.
The thing that really sets this a cut above the rest, is the cinematography, staging / set design, and directing... films that look this good are usually reserved for more arty affairs, but it really does add atmosphere, because you are not distracted by unconvincing Hollywood cheapo weather affects, or comedy horror trying not to be.
The only thing that possibly lets this down though is the CGI Alligators themselves, as I've yet to see convincing and realistic movement and behaviour of an animal in cinema created this way... but they are sparingly used for the most part, and the great cinematography conceals a lot of the short-comings of the beasties...
(But oddly, also highlights them by way of contrast with the realism of the rest of the set.)
((Might even have been better tog o the animatronic route in some instances... might not have been the best, but I always appreciate the craft in creating a real alligator, albeit a stiff one, rather than just CGI-ing the thing))
So, Father and Daughter stuck in house basement which is slowly filling up with floodwater and Alligators, which they have to outsmart to survive...
... Worth an hour or two of anyone's time, and very enjoyable.
Solid 7.
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