‘Gator Face’ Turns a Florida Holiday Into a Bloodbath

A Florida holiday turns into a ritual feeding ground in Gator Face, Padraig Reynolds’ new creature-feature slasher set to make its UK premiere at Tubi FrightFest. Drawing openly on 1970s exploitation cinema, the film combines real alligators, practical effects and a swamp-dwelling cult with no CGI or AI used to create its central threat.

The story follows a group of friends whose sun-soaked getaway takes a violent turn after they stumble across an isolated community devoted to an ancient alligator deity. Their arrival places them inside a cycle of sacrifice, with the cult hunting them through the Florida swamps and offering its victims to the reptiles they worship.

Tabitha Brownstone, Amariah Dionne, Nikolas Kolasinski and Kiara Mitjans lead the cast. Reynolds returns to FrightFest after previous appearances with Rites of Spring, Worry Dolls, Open 24 Hours and Dark Light, continuing a relationship with the festival that has followed much of his work in independent horror.

The filmmaker’s latest project is being presented as a deliberate throwback to the period when regional horror productions relied on dangerous locations, practical blood effects and whatever could be placed safely in front of the camera. Safely may not be quite the right word when real alligators are involved, but that physical presence gives the film a point of difference from creature features built primarily in post-production.

According to the festival description, Gator Face uses gallons of practical gore and live reptiles to construct its swamp-set pursuit. The premise folds slasher mechanics into creature horror, with the cult providing a human threat while the surrounding waters hold something less predictable. The alligators are not simply incidental wildlife either. They sit at the centre of the group’s belief system, turning the hunt into a form of worship rather than straightforward murder.

Reynolds has spent much of his career working within horror, often placing characters in isolated environments where escape routes become increasingly limited. Rites of Spring combined crime and rural terror, while Open 24 Hours trapped its protagonist inside a lonely petrol station during a night shift. Gator Face moves that pressure into open terrain, although the swamps appear no less restrictive. If anything, the space makes the characters more exposed.

Gator Face receives its UK premiere on the Main Screen at Tubi FrightFest on Sunday, 30 August 2026 at 6.40pm. Director Padraig Reynolds is expected to attend, subject to confirmation, and tickets are available through the festival: frightfest2026

Gator Face trailer

Horror trailers