Gator Creek review – blood-lust in the bayou with drug-crazed killer reptiles
While shark-attack flicks hog the limelight, crocodile and alligator ones get comparatively little love, despite a long history from 1980's Alligator to 1999's Lake Placid to 2019 Netflix film Crawl. This mostly ludicrous but fitfully enjoyable entry plays like a Donald Trump meat-fever dream; after DEA agents bust a Louisiana everglades drug factory, the Ribena-coloured run-off leaks into the waterways, creating a strain of super-aggressive alligators.
Lead prospective morsel in the human chum bucket is biology student Kyle (Athena Strates), who's heading into the wilderness to scatter her brother's ashes. Her obnoxious pal Malika (Elisha Applebaum) – a female Steven Stifler – books them on a light aircraft, despite Kyle's fear of flying. With everyone oblivious to wingnut pilot Frank (Andonis Anthony) essentially being Quint from Jaws, the flight nosedives into the bayou. And with Frank's operation unchartered, no mobile phone coverage and a swamp teeming with reptiles, they are fresh out of gator aid.
From the sun-baked old-timer round the back of the 7/11 crowing over a super-sized saurian, Gator Creek has reptilian-cortex bloodlust switched on from the get-go. Too much, to be honest; on the evidence of the film's spasmodic plotting, it seems like writers Ashley Holberry and Gavin Cosmo Mehrtens have been sipping the purple run-off themselves. A spat over a mobile phone with a cartoon financial trader improbably causes the plane to crash. With Kyle's bestie Alice (Madalena Aragão) filching a batch of lizard eggs, the film appears to give the slaughter a behavioural explanation. But it's completely forgotten until the drug-den finale when, with Kyle in her singlet facing down angry mama gator, the film suddenly seems to think it's Aliens.
Without a sensible guiding hand, a punch-drunk dissonance takes hold of proceedings. Kyle tries to dispense zoological knowledge as a way out of their predicament, which becomes superfluous when events boil down to a rabid reptile rugby scrum. Directors Taneli Mustonen and Brad Watson show bursts of proficiency, with drone shots of metallic-looking glades and interesting tilt-shift effects for the plane crash. But they are alongside some of the most laughable practical effects imaginable: such as the man-trap gator jaws someone unwittingly sticks their head into. Of course there are the copious gorehound kills to latch on to, but Gator Creek is liable to leave you, like its cast, with an unsavoury residue on your hands.
Gator Creek is on digital platforms from 24 March.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Graziadaily
an hour ago
- Graziadaily
Who Is Megan Stalter? All We Know About The Too Much Star
There's a lot of buzz around Lena Dunham's new show Too Much, which is set to launch on Netflix on 10 July. The British series, which spans ten episodes, follows Jessica, a workaholic New Yorker who comes to the UK following a devastating break-up, only to find her unexpected match in musician Felix (The White Lotus' Will Sharpe). Inspired by Lena's own experiences with her husband Luis Felber, Too Much – which features cameos from Grazia favourite Andrew Scott, Kit Harington, Jessica Alba, Rita Ora and Jennifer Saunders – depict dating and falling in love in its raw, messy form. Ahead of the show's debut, we take a look at the lead star… Megan Stalter in Too Much ©Ana Blumenkron/Netflix Megan Stalter is an American comedian and actress, hailing from Ohio. During her early 20s, she started her comedy career in stand-up and improvisation, where she readily admits that she wasn't a natural. 'I was really, really bad. There was a man at the theatre in Ohio who asked me to stop being in the show. Ohio was pretty right,' she said. In 2018, Megan started posting videos online, which later became The Megan Stalter Show. Her profile rose after she moved to New York in 2019, as she made a name for herself in the alt-comedy scene in the city as well as on Instagram. It led to her joining the cast and writing staff on The National Lampoon Radio Hour reboot the same year. But it wasn't until her break-out role as clueless Hollywood assistant Kayla Schaefer in Hacks that she became a household name. Megan has also appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race as a guest judge and A Nonsense Christmas With Sabrina Carpenter as Sabrina's friend. Megan, who is bisexual, is dating Maddie Allen, whom she's been with since 2022, and the couple are happily in love. Megan shared a photo of them recently, calling Maddie her 'hot perfect girlfriend' and 'an angel'. Shereen Low is a senior news and entertainment writer for Grazia UK, who has covered some of the biggest showbiz news from the past decade.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Netflix fans go wild after streaming service brings back hit TV show five years later
Netflix has officially reinstated one of its most beloved political dramas - and fans have been gushing about the unexpected decision. All seven seasons of Scandal - the hit series created by Shonda Rhimes and starring Kerry Washington as the fierce and fashionable Olivia Pope - were made available on the platform in the US on June 17. Netflix announced the news in May, confirming the show's long-awaited return and it has since triggered a wave of excitement across social media. 'FINALLY!!! I've been waiting for y'all to bring this back! It belongs on Netflix!' someone wrote on the streamer's Instagram post. 'Okkkkkkkk another rewatch is due then,' someone else said. Other comments read: 'What took y'all so long,' 'I'm shakinggggg,' and, 'This is the best news of my life.' 'I remember how I used to wait for Thursday like it was payday,' another said. 'FINALLLY I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR TIMES LIKE THIS,' an excited fan wrote. The show had previously been removed from the platform back in 2020 and bounced between Hulu and Tubi before finally returning home to the streamer that helped make it a binge-worthy phenomenon. Fans expressed their excitement and plan to rewatch the show after its relaunch. 'I just started a re-watch yesterday! So great!' a user wrote on Reddit. 'I'm glad it's back too. I was watching on Hulu and made it to Season 6, it's such a better viewing experience without commercials,' someone wrote. 'This is my first time watching!! So good,' a comment read. 'Time for a Scandal renaissance and a revival!!!' a person shared. Others on Twitter also chimed in: 'Oh, hell yeah!!!!!!! Renewing my subscription for this.' 'Can't wait,' someone wrote, while another said: 'YES. About to binge for the fourth time lol.' Some fans got so excited by the news, they misread the posts and thought the show was coming back for another season. 'I thought this was a renewal for a hot second...' a user admitted. 'I swiped passed this and went back so fast cause all I saw was "SCANDAL is coming back,"' a comment read. First premiering in 2012, Scandal made television history as the first network drama in nearly four decades to feature a Black woman in the lead role. Washington's portrayal of Washington D.C. crisis manager Olivia Pope, complete with monologues, iconic outfits, and scandalous affairs, earned her fan dedication and multiple award nominations. The series became a Thursday night staple during its original ABC run and helped launch the 'Thank God It's Thursday' era for Shondaland shows.
Metro
2 hours ago
- Metro
Netflix adds all 4 episodes of 'gripping' spy thriller with Line of Duty star
The cast is a real who's who of British acting talent (Picture: BBC/World Productions/Matt Burlem) If you're in the mood for political intrigue, Netflix has just added a dark tale of espionage, terrorism and betrayal set in Victorian London. Based on Joseph Conrad's terrorism satire novel, The Secret Agent originally aired on the BBC back in 2016. Film critic Roger Ebert once labelled Conrad's novel of the same name 'perhaps the least filmable novel he ever wrote' – alongside a one-star review of the 1996 film adaptation. However this four-part adaptation adds plenty of plot goings-ons to the novel's character study to make it pop on the 1886-set screen. The drama centres around Verloc, the owner of a smutty Soho sex shop, who has a side hustle on the go as an informer for the Russian embassy, keeping tabs on a group of anarchists in the capital – whose aims are to 'attack the rich!' But when the Russians make new demands on Verloc, involving a bomb plot, his identity is put at risk – all the more so because his wife keeps inviting the anarchists to their home for revolutionary meetings. Get personalised updates on all things Netflix Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. The cast is a real who's who of British acting talent, with Toby Jones heading up the show as Verloc and Vicky McClure playing his wife Winnie. The Secret Agent is based on Joseph Conrad's terrorism satire novel (Picture: BBC/World Productions/Des Willie) The show taps into the hotbed of European radicalism at the time (Picture: BBC/World Productions/Mark Mainz) To round out the top of the call sheet, Stephen Graham joins them as the police Chief Inspector Heat – naturally, a very cool name for the eternally cool actor. The show taps into the hotbed of European radicalism at the time, with the central terrorist attack inspired by a real-life plot to blow up the Greenwich Observatory. Jones said it's no mistake we're drawn to spy stories, telling The Times in 2016: 'We know we live in a surveillance society, we're being watched, we're watching, we've always said we don't fully trust what politicians say, but now we know not to trust them. Conrad had the original spy story.' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page Toby Jones said he was 'gripped' by the show's storytelling (Picture: BBC/World Productions/Des Willie) Jones went on to say he was 'gripped' by the show's storytelling and the performances of his fellow actors, but then added: 'I don't like anything I do. All I see is what I don't do.' When the show was first released, the Radio Times hailed it as a 'gripping period tale exploring urgent modern anxieties', while The Telegraph described it as 'one of the bleakest, murkiest and most disturbing dramas this year'. However, the reviews were a mixed bag, with the Guardian dismayed at what had been lost from the original novel, while The New York Times described the show as a family soap opera that didn't get at the character's psychologies. The Secret Agent is available to stream on Netflix. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. Arrow MORE: How to stream Sleeper Cell TV series that left viewers 'in constant state of suspense' Arrow MORE: 'Chilling' crime thriller enters Netflix top 10 with all five episodes available to stream Arrow MORE: Netflix's new racy Spanish drama has fans 'bingeing it in one go'
