The Bayou”: A Gator Flick That’s Fun at Times, But Mostly Toothless | Review

It turns out that there are worse things than a plane crash. Horror movies and TV series have taught us that the dread is just beginning, even if you somehow survive such a crash. Think, for example, of a plane crashing in the middle of the ocean, leaving the survivors to fight for their lives against sharks, the lack of oxygen or food, and other obstacles (“No Way Up”). We’ve seen, among other things, an Alaskan island with murderous wolves (“The Grey”), a mysterious island that you arrive on, with supernatural phenomena originating from a script that has become worse over seasons (“Lost”), a deserted island where the only way to survive is to step on others, and it turns out to also eat some of them (“Yellowjackets”), and much more.

Now comes “The Bayou,” a movie about a crash that sets off a survival journey in the Louisiana Everglades, where alligators have been exposed to drugs. And it’s a little better than it sounds, but not good enough.

What Is The Bayou About?

The plot of “The Bayou” centers on Kyle (South African actress Athena Strates), a biology student still grieving her brother’s death and even feels guilty about it. She sets out on a journey to scatter his ashes with two of their friends, the cool but broke Alice (Portuguese actress Madalena Aragão) and a black guy named Sam (Mohammed Mansaray). There’s also the sexy but super-bitchy girl named Malika (Elisha Applebaum), who volunteers her car and later surprises them with a private flight to their destination.

Well, it’s not exactly private because the small, rickety plane will have a drunk and smoking pilot (Andonis Anthony) and a few other supporting characters, some of them stereotypical, who are there mainly to be eaten by alligators.

Don’t Give Drugs To Alligators

Ah, yes. The alligators. After a few hints at the beginning of the film about these deadly predators, such as news reports, warning signs, and a crazy older adult, the chaos begins. A combination of annoying passengers, an unskilled pilot, and an outdated plane leads to the guys crashing in the Louisiana Everglades, known for its happy gator population.

They realize that beyond the usual problems in movies of this kind – you know, the fact that no one knows they’re there, the fear of running out of food, the fact that there’s a bitch who wants to throw everyone to the alligators and ego games between a few tough guys – they’ll have to fight for their lives against murderous alligators, which are super cruel for a reason.

In several disaster and nature films, the main idea is that humans pay for the damage they cause to the environment and animals. At a relatively early stage of “The Bayou,” the issue of crocodile eggs is mentioned. Kyle, who is a walking encyclopedia of alligators because she studies biology and wears glasses for a large part of the film, notes that crocodile eggs cost a fortune (which, by the way, is probably not true, because according to knowledgeable sources on Google or in the GPT chat, the price of a crocodile egg is several dozen dollars unlike, for example, crocodile skin, a luxurious material that you can find in luxury watches and other products for the wealthy). Later, we see another character who discovers a cache of crocodile eggs and disrupts their natural environment.

The problem is that we realize that the story differs at a certain point. These crocodiles don’t behave like regular crocodiles, but are more violent and larger. It turns out that the reason is that they took drugs, believe it or not, reminiscent of the opening scene of the film involving a battle between drug dealers and some good guys. Instead of getting a classic crocodile movie about the hardships of nature and the invasion of their living space, we get a strange version of “Cocaine Bear,” only with crocodiles instead of bears and without humor.

There’s even a “character” of a super crocodile named after a pop singer, which is mentioned once by name in the context of an urban legend and again when we meet her, but it’s not enough to make her stand out.

Great Cinematography, But What About The Effects?

To the credit of “The Bayou,” we must say that it is enjoyable at times. Steven Hall’s cinematography is interesting and sometimes creative, with some wise directorial choices that make us appreciate the technology and the availability of drones today, allowing even low-budget films to look decent.

The appearance of the crocodiles is another story. The reliance here is probably on computer effects, even if a few seemed to me to have originated from a database unrelated to the film; some would say It Was a Stock image. In some cases, it looks normal, while in others, the result is sloppy and “cheap.” You can see it, especially in scenes where the crocodiles chase or prey on someone, which happens in most cases too quickly and ineffectively to make us jump or scare. The main character’s verbal descriptions of the hunting and killing by the crocodiles seemed to me more like background material for one of the articles in the scary nature section of our website (thank you for the idea!) rather than something directly expressed in the film. It makes us expect something thrilling, but when the miracle is happening, and the gators eat someone, the final result is far from adequate.

It is easy to argue that “The Bayou” is a film that is too messy in script and style. It has a few relatively tense scenes, but I didn’t find them scary or memorable. The film does not work on emotion, even though we are supposed to identify with the heroine, who has been traumatized in her past and is dealing with even more complex circumstances in the present. I didn’t feel any sympathy for most of the characters, who remained with their fairly basic characterization: the girl who acts like a bitch (a.k.a the bitch character), a harsh and somewhat unsympathetic man ((The drunk pilot, for example) and so on. Only a minority of the characters aroused sympathy in me (the cool, tough, but impoverished Alice, who managed to stand out among the other characters).

I apologize in advance for the flat descriptions of the characters. Still, it is clear to me that in films of this type, it is difficult for us to expect heroines with overly complex characterizations or witty dialogue that make every sentence in the movie a pleasure to hear. That is fine because there are enough other films available for these purposes, and most of them don’t involve alligators or other deadly animals.

Should You Watch The Bayou?

Unfortunately, the horror cinematic universe is not full of successful crocodile films (unlike shark films, for example). A quick search on the Internet will expose you to ridiculous “B-movies,” with monstrous crocodiles fighting against dinosaurs, giant snakes, or whatever a tiny budget can produce. You can recognize these films by their low ratings on movie websites, their ridiculous trailers that point to poor acting and third-rate effects, or the fact that some of them feature a curved girl in a swimsuit on the poster to attract viewers who enjoy watching shapely men and women in minimal clothing running away from something.

The good news is that “The Bayou” is a bit higher-level than these horrors. Still, it’s clear that there are many times more successful works in this subgenre of crocodile films: for example, Alexandre Aja’s “Crawl” (2019), which will receive a sequel, “Rogue” (2007), some of the Lake Placid” films, and even earlier films, such as the excellent “Alligator” from 1980.

In the case of “The Bayou,” we saw sparks that suggest this film is not a complete failure or a cinematic joke. And yet, this is a small, low-budget film intended mainly for streaming (it was screened in a few countries worldwide), which received a poster that looks reasonable for a change. The actors are far from well-known, as can be deduced from the fact that in the brackets that indicate who they are in the previous paragraphs, I chose to mainly indicate their origin and not essential projects in their filmography. Another piece of evidence is that the leading actress, who is depicted with a hunched appearance on the film’s poster, does not yet have a photo on IMDb.

The names of the directors, Taneli Mustonen and Brad Watson, probably won’t tell you much, even though the former did direct and write a film once that deserves to be included in the brackets (the horror thriller “The Twin” with Teresa Palmer, yes!). The script was written by Gavin Cosmo Mehrtens (who was a production assistant on films like “Victor Frankenstein” and “Legend”) and Ashley Holberry, who has several roles as “additional crew” behind her (“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”, “The Theory of Everything,” “Allied”), whatever “additional crew” means.

In short, you get the idea: the inexperience of most of the production and cast members is evident here, and in this context, one can understand the choice to display the well-known phrase “From the producers of” on the film’s poster (in this case, Fall” and “47 Meters Down“, both are recommended).

Considering all this, it’s hard to recommend “The Bayou” as a must-watch, even for people who love alligator movies. However, it had some interesting moments. It can be used for a casual night at home, rather than doing something mundane like sleeping (oops). If the film teaches you to avoid cheap flights, keep drugs away from alligators, or at least stay away from alligator-infested natural sites, that’s great.

The Bayou (2025) – Frequently Asked Questions

Who directed The Bayou? Tenli Mustonen, Brad Watson

Who plays in The Bayou? The cast of the film is relatively unknown and includes names like Athena Strates, Madalena Aragão, Elisha Applebaum, Mohammed Mansaray, and Andonis Anthony.

Who Wrote The Bayou? Gavin Cosmo Mehrtens and Ashley Holberry wrote the screenplay of The Bayou.

How long is The Baouy? The film is relatively short, with a runtime of 87 minutes.

Where was The Bayou filmed? The Bayou’s plot takes place in the Louisiana Everglades, but according to 4Films, it was filmed in London (mainly the indoor scenes) and the Philippines.

What languages are spoken in The Bayou? The movie is in English, but you can hear some scary growls of alligators.

When was The Bayou released? The movie’s release date (in countries where it reaches the cinema) is 17th July 2025.

What was the budget of The Bayou? We haven’t found information about the movie’s official budget.

How much did the movie gross? Only about $426,000, according to Box Office Mojo. It was primarily meant for streaming.

What do the reviews say about The Bayou? The Bayou has a 4.3 rating on IMDB. It doesn’t have enough professional reviews by critics to gain a “Tomatometer” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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