Bad CGI Gator: Bruh is Gator-Chow!

Six college students go to a cabin by a lake somewhere in Georgia for spring break.  Their plan is to drink heavily and have a lot of sex, basically your typical horror film college students.  Sam (Michael Bonini) is the levelheaded exception who only went on the trip to meet Hope (Maddie Lane) the uninvolved stepsister of “bruh extraordinaire”, Chad (Ben VanderMey) who’s uncle owns the cabin they are staying at.  The rest of the group consists of Chad’s girlfriend, Sarah (Rebecca Stoughton); his best friend Pearce (Cooper Drippe); and Pearce’s girlfriend, Paisley (Sarah Buchanan).  Sarah and Paisley are attempting to become Instagram influencers and in an act of youthful defiance, the group film themselves tossing their school owned laptops into the lake.  A small alligator touches a laptop and for some inexplicable reason is transformed into a giant CGI version of himself and begins going on a murderous rampage.  In addition to growing, the CGI Gator can also fly!  Why?  We have no idea, but what the hell, why not! Bruh!  Who will survive and who ends up gator chow?  Watch and find out!

If you are looking for a deep meaningful movie commenting on the current infatuation with social media and the destruction of the environment due to mankind’s greed, then you probably should find another movie to watch.  Although, these themes are roughly explored and you could consider this entire movie a farcical commentary of “Gen Zers”, I very much doubt that the writer (Zalman Band), the director (Danny Draven), or anyone else involved in this film put that much thought into storylines, themes, or plot.  This is a film that is unashamedly strictly for entertainment value with the obligatory young adult partying and bare boobage scenes.  And for a movie with “Bad CGI” in the title, the rest of the production quality wasn’t too bad.  The music was well composed by Jojo Draven (ex-wife to the director) and the cinematography really wasn’t that low budget.

Bad CGI Gator is purposefully over the top in story (or lack thereof) and actor performances. Every character is a caricature of the standard horror film youth.  Chad and Pearce are the stereotypical college “frat bro”, whose whole world revolves around getting drunk and getting laid.  Ben VanderMay does a decent job as the muscley jock, but it is hard for someone my age to connect to the character when every other word is literally “bruh” or “bro” even when addressing the female cast members.  Sam is the shy guy, who is so shy he can barely talk to Hope and yet it is obviously clear that he is infatuated with her. Michael Bonini also does a great job heightening this stereotypical character, making his Sam almost farcically shy.  Hope played adequately by Maddie Lane, is the tough nonconformist female who doesn’t care whether she fits in with the other girls her age.  Sarah and Paisley are the empty-headed mean girls who are only interested in their own self advancement and becoming famous.  Rebecca Stoughton and Sarah Buchanan both play their parts well, which actually provides most of the humor in the movie. In the end, this was a bad film, but it was supposed to be.  It was bad enough to be mildly entertaining.