In my childhood, I chanced upon a DVD of a movie that instilled a phobia of crocodiles in me. I later learned that the reptile shown in the film was an alligator, and the movie was aptly titled Alligator. Directed by Brandon Slagle, the new movie The Flood mixes the fun of legendary man-eating alligators with the background of a plot that seems to be inspired by Rio Bravo. Such films are always based on how absurdly the ‘gator’ will devour its next prey, and The Flood delivers the goods. It does begin by pretending to be a much more serious film than it actually is, but as soon as the famished gators show up, everything falls into place. Just gather your friends, and you might have a movie night on hand.
The plot revolves around Sheriff Jo Newmann in Louisiana, who gets a request to accommodate five violent criminals in her station because of the turbulent weather and the rising floods. The Sheriff isn’t aware that the cop truck carrying the dreaded felons is being followed by robbers, who will stop at nothing to get Cody, their man in the police truck, out. Their plan is derailed by the man-eating alligators that have swarmed the Sheriff’s office.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Film?
Hurricane Katrina terrorized various states and was followed by torrential rainfall, resulting in floods in Louisiana. Sheriff Jo Newmann’s office was also caught in the aftermath. The water had come into her office as well. Giving the job of dealing with the rising water level to Deputy Pine, Jo would have thought that her problems would disappear, but this was just the beginning. A police truck was transferring five felons from one prison to the next, and its destination was far away. The two officers driving the truck couldn’t risk getting stranded in the flood with the killers in the back. Although the felons were handcuffed, the officers could never be too careful. So they decided to call the nearest Sheriff’s office to find accommodation there until the weather cleared up and they could resume their journey.
A crew of four criminals that have killed lots of police officers in the past was keeping an eye on this particular truck because one of their own was in it. They had to get him out, and their plan was to ambush the truck when it took a sharp turn on the way to it’s destination. The turn never arrived, as the officers took a road straight down to Sheriff Newmann’s office. Rafe, the leader of the crew, decided to take the risk and attack the office. He didn’t know that the place was swarming with man-eating alligators.
How Do The Alligators Swarm The Office?
I will give you an explanation, but believe me, it won’t ever stop sounding absurd. Apparently, the hurricane was so strong that it took the gators with it, and many ended up on the office’s terrace. Pine went down to check on the water clogging and found the basement to have already been flooded. The gators reached the basement through the chimney ducts, and when they got the chance, they feasted on their first victim. The felons were put in lockup, and nobody was aware of Pine’s fate. Before anybody could realize he had not returned from the basement, Rafe and his crew barged into the office, and a shootout ensued.
Why Did Rafe Attack Jo’s Office?
In the police van was the cop killer, Russell Cody. He was a ‘lifer’ and had no chance of getting out of prison. This transfer was Rafe’s only opportunity to get him out of there. Actually, they had been on the job before, and Cody had helped Rafe as the driver. The crew saw the felons escorted into the office and assumed Jo didn’t have the manpower to find them. The crew wasn’t worried about going against the cops, as they had killed many before. In fact, Cody was actually suffering the burden of Rafe’s sins. It looked like Rafe couldn’t bear the guilt and had come back to rescue his ‘friend,’ but the reality was quite the opposite.
Did Jo And Cody Survive The Alligators?
Rafe and crew overpowered all of Jo’s deputies after killing one of the truck’s officers. One from Rafe’s crew also sustained injuries, but Jo had to act wisely given the circumstances. If she had resisted, she could have ended up dead. Her main responsibility was not to let Rafe get away with the felons. She didn’t know he was only after Cody. Of all the other felons, Cody seemed different, and she suspected that he didn’t belong in Rafe’s crew.
Rafe sends Eva to follow Jo to the basement to get the power back on. Their plan was to get Cody out of prison and use jet skis to get away. The worse the weather got, the better it was for them. The other units would arrive late, and they would have escaped by then. In the basement, the alligators were ready to derail this plan. Jo didn’t know that Pine had died in the basement, and she found his mutilated remains in the flood. Carter is attacked by one of the gators, and Jo survives. She closed the door to the basement, but they were everywhere. The water lever started to rise, and Jo tried to get away. As soon as the door of the lockup room was opened, the water flooded the room, which meant the gators were coming soon. Rafe left the lock-up room to go check up on Carter but encountered a gator on his way. Jo and Rafe ran towards the lock-up. Jo survived, but Rafe was taken away. It looked like three of Rafe’s crew members had already been killed by the gators, including Rafe. Soon the gators started their feast on the felons. Jo was trying to uphold the law, but the gators couldn’t care less. They were on a killing streak, and whoever stood in their way died. Guns didn’t manage to do much damage, and the rising water lever meant that going a floor up did not guarantee safety. Cody, Jo, and the remaining felons try to survive going up via the ducts.
They get some breathing time, and this is when Cody reveals to Jo that he was in the military. She always perceived him as different from the rest, and after listening to his story, she got convinced. Cody continued, revealing that after his altercation with a senior, he was dishonorably discharged and was left jobless and broke. In desperation, he started to work for Rafe, who promised him a huge sum of money. Cody understood the seriousness of the crime when Rafe killed a cop. Cody panicked and drove away with the hefty sum that Rafe had put in the car. Back at the rendezvous, nobody showed up. The police were waiting for Cody, apparently, and he was arrested for the cop’s murder.
Rafe wanted Cody out because he had stashed the stolen cash in a place only he knew. When it looked like Jo and Cody wouldn’t survive the gators, Rafe showed up and blew one up with his guns. He had miraculously survived and was acting as an ally because he wanted Cody to escape with him. Cody couldn’t leave Jo behind, and that was when Rafe broke character and started to attack him. He had the keys to the jetski and wanted Cody to drop his good-samaritan attitude and leave Jo behind. She didn’t want his help anyway. She ends up blowing up the part of the building where the alligators killed so many people. Rafe dies in the blast, leaving Jo and Cody as the only survivors. In the end, Jo and Cody meet on the jet ski themselves. She planned to name Cody as one of the five felons who died in custody, giving him a pass to start a life as a free man. She did so because she believed his story. Cody hadn’t killed the cop and didn’t deserve to rot in prison for Rafe’s crime. She does ask him if he knows where the cash is, and giving a wry smile, Cody and Jo part ways. This could mean that they may have had an arrangement, but given Jo’s character, she wouldn’t use the stolen money, but she probably wouldn’t mind if Cody used it judiciously.
