Set in the fictional Water Springs, St. Augustine, Florida, “Gator Face” (2026) delivers what it promises: a burly man (Nikolas Kolasinski) wearing an alligator face chasing young adults then feeding them to alligators or killing them himself. When two different friend groups cross paths visiting the same region, they get more than they bargained for when the titular character decides that they would be perfect victims for a cult. Will they escape? By the end, you may ask what is the point? If you enjoy slasher films with random killers, then you will love the first two acts, but the denouement feels anti-climactic and gets monotonous at the exact point that it should not. Writer and director Padraig Reynolds soars when he keeps it simple.
“Gator Face” is not a traditional slasher despite all appearances to the contrary. If you decide to watch this film, do not see the trailer which gives away entirely too much about the entire movie. The first hour works because the known circumstances keep shifting: people get killed faster than expected, more characters get added, the stakes shift, the threats expand, mythology becomes a factor. Once it settles into a routine and starts repeating what happened before, it gets annoying.
It is not easy to root for or get invested in the victims though doing so reflexively as a matter of duty will happen. The first group is not full of Mensa members. Blonde Sierra (Ellie Shaddix) is uncertain whether a race car driver needs a driver’s license yet sets the itinerary for the group. Nikki (Kiara Mitjans) is only moderately more sensible but has no discernible characteristics except for being a brunette. Jessica “Jess” Campbell (Amariah Dionne) is the only one with consistent survival instincts, and if you are familiar with the viral 2025 viral social media joke that “gingers are Black,” you will not be surprised. If it is hard to suspend disbelief, somehow the killer has a harder time spotting her than anyone else even though she has red hair and is the palest of the group. If Reynolds wants to raise money for the sequel, he needs to get Dionne to do product endorsement for whatever sunscreen that she used because she did not burn once, and the first hour takes place during the day under the hot Florida sun.
The second group are shown arriving in a van, which combined with the killer is very “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (1974). Driver David (Barron Regan) was ready to throw in the towel immediately and early on, exhibits zero admirable qualities, including eagerness to scapegoat a stranger, but he improves over time. Andy (Iain Smith) is decent enough and dates Claire (Tabitha Brownstone), who is a fighter, a skill which gets underutilized. Samara (Ella Mosca) is the birthday girl, and the only one who always has her cell phone in hand. If “Gator Face” is frustrating, viewers may find it hard to believe that out of a group of seven people, few have or are able to keep their cell phones on their person. Also, when Jess is running around God’s green earth, it never occurs to her to return to her car. They are a bit too dumb, but it does not spoil the flick.
It feels as if “Gator Face” was made so Kolasinski could wear a presumably alligator skin jacket with teeth instead of buttons on the sleeves, no shirt underneath, and an alligator mask while brandishing an ax then vibing with a group of gators. If so, 10 out of 10 no notes. More alligator shenanigans with Kolasinski. It seemed implied that he could talk and control them, but the movie does not really use that feature often probably because it is too dangerous. Kolasinski deserves extra kudos for occasionally moving like a gator when he goes on all fours to chase the vacationers. Nice committing to the bit! Honestly, the movie works best when Gator Face is just running around and trying to coral those crazy kids. It should get old, but it does not, and when he is on the sidelines observing, things wind down to a zero.
“Gator Face” also features a cult. If I watched fewer movies, maybe this part of the plot would work better, but if you are like me, it is nothing that you have not seen before in the real world or in horror films even if they are using alligators instead of poisonous serpents to preach their version of the gospel with human sacrifice, fear-based worship and “Midsommar” (2019) aesthetics meets majority culture trying to appropriate indigenous cultures into a Christian syncretism religion. In the era of Presidon’t, it is barely an exaggeration of the real world, but for actually being a horror movie with a metaphor, some points will be awarded for effort and thoroughness but none for originality. Do not conflate this criticism with the acting or the characters. Everyone commits to the fervent, glassy eyed follower mentality. It just is not particularly interesting, and if there is a sequel, it will be the part that gets elaborated upon, which is not exactly a draw.
It may have been more interesting if “Gator Face” delved more into the infrastructure of what made this cult possible to thrive without interference even though their numbers only require two hands to count them. Eagle eyed viewers, pay attention to the surroundings when the first group arrives, especially the largest side of a row of vacant houses. The history of the place suggests a vibrant vacationing community now abandoned. Then when ominous graffiti signals that the good times are over, it is the language of disasters like Hurricane Katrina telling recovery teams where to find the bodies, and it is prophetic. Also, Jess and others do call 911, and the operator hangs up. Are they complicit, part of the cult, or are the systems’ flaws and bureaucratic decision to abandon communities and leave them without government assistance something that predators exploit? There was an urban legend with some people claiming firsthand accounts that alligators ate people during Katrina. While there is zero storm damage depicted in the film, the fears and aesthetics of disaster form the backdrop and add to the unspoken horror atmosphere. Additionally, there is a never explained area where tons of abandoned vehicles are lined up. Do they represent all the victims’ abandoned vehicles, an organic dumping ground or something else? It is wonderfully evocative and terrifying. Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.
“Gator Face” is not top shelf horror, but it is also not garbage. Calling it mid would be unfair because the first hour is a blast despite the acting only being serviceable. No one will end up on your list of people to look out for in the future. Reynolds does not stick the landing, which makes it harder to remember the fun that came before. Do not confuse with the writer and director Michael Houston King’s “Gator Face” (2026), which is apparently also coming out on the same day! Really, guys?!?
