Review by Eric Hillis
Directed by: Padraig Reynolds
Starring: Amariah Dionne, Tabitha Brownstone, Scot Scurlock, Nikolas Kolasinski
There is a perception in the more opportunistic corners of the film industry that horror fans are easily pleased. It's why VOD stores are clogged with low budget horror productions that have been made purely for cynical, commercial reasons. But horror fans are no mugs. They might accept amateurish acting and subpar production values, but what they won't accept is an absence of heart. A horror movie can lack originality, but if it displays a genuine passion for the genre it can transcend its limitations.
That's the case with writer/director Padraig Reynolds' Gator Face. The setup isn't exactly novel, but the commitment to authenticity here is what makes Reynolds' film stand out. Though set in the present day, it's a throwback to the gritty "rednecksploitation" thrillers of the '70s. Remove the cellphones and it could play on a drive-in double bill in 1976 alongside something like Tobe Hooper's Eaten Alive. Reynolds has forsaken CG, relying instead on gloriously icky practical effects, and even the film's alligators are the real deal.
What really makes Gator Face really play like a product of the '70s rather than the 2020s is how it doesn't waste any time getting to the meat. Within minutes we have seen two young women meet a bloody demise at the hands of the titular Gator Face (Nikolas Kolasinski) and the alligators under his control. A third girl, Jess (Amariah Dunne), flees into the woods where she encounters a group of young friends whose van has overheated. One by one this group are picked off by Gator Face and his reptilian buddies. And they also have to contend with a gator-worshipping cult operating out of the local church.
There is a level of effort here that is all too lacking in modern low budget exploitation cinema (I use "cinema" loosely because the only way to see such movies in a theatrical setting where they can be best appreciated with a crowd is now at festivals). The premise may not boast much in the way of originality, but much thought has been given to creating the world of the film through impressive work by the costume and art department. Gator Face himself has a great look, sporting an alligator mask and a long alligator-skin jacket. A nice touch is how he speed-crawls along the ground like the reptiles he adores - it's a genuinely creepy affectation. The art direction and production design greatly enhance the film's setting, with gator-obsessed murals and wood carvings selling the idea that we're in the domain of a cult.
Using real gators rather than the unconvincing CG stand-ins we've become accustomed to in the animal attacks sub-genre greatly adds to the terror, especially when actors are placed in the same shot just a few feet away from the creatures. I'm assuming Kolasinski has some sort of background in reptile wrangling, because there are multiple shots in which his Gator Face commands the animals as though they were pet pooches. It's reminiscent of the infamous 1981 film Roar, which used the real lions of Tippi Hedren's animal sanctuary, though thankfully it seems nobody was chewed up during the production of this one.
Along with CG, Reynolds has also eschewed that other element that makes so many modern survival thrillers a drag - the traumatic backstory. Dunne's Jess is ostensibly our central protagonist here (though another character, Tabitha Brownstone's Claire, also comes to play a major role) but the movie doesn't feel the need to lumber her with the usual dead parent/sibling/boyfriend backstory. We know nothing about Jess, which allows us to project ourselves onto her. It is enough that she is being hunted by a hulking masked maniac who communicates with gators like an evil Steve Irwin - we don't need some pointless flashbacks to something awful that happened to her in the past.
Gator Face does have its issues. Aside from Kolasinski's impressive physical performance, the acting is generally of the semi-professional variety, and much of the dialogue is inane. I'm not sure why Reynolds didn't simply set his movie in the '70s, as it's difficult to swallow the plot contrivance that none of these zoomers have a phone on their person. But its commitment to old school grindhouse filmmaking without winking at the audience makes Gator Face a treat for any horror fans hungry for crunchy gore and practical bloodshed.
Gator Face is on UK/ROI VOD from September 21st.
