What happens when you take a gutsy jail break by a varied group of convicts, during an unprecedented hurricane in Louisiana, and throw in a few hungry alligators for good measure? The filmmakers behind The Flood, Saban Films’ latest eco-horror venture, wanted to explore this exact scenario, the result of which is equal parts silly and shallow.

Directed by Brandon Slagle, the movie starts off with foreboding shots of the approaching storm, with news clips peppered in to bring home the severity of what’s to come. It sets the pace to feel like we’re about to watch a disaster flick in the vein of Twister and The Day After Tomorrow, but we quickly learn that there’s much more lurking in the shadows to threaten our cast of characters.

That cast, led by Nicky Whelan as Sheriff Jo Newman and Casper Van Dien as Russell Cody, consists of both prisoners and guards who are forced to work together to ride out the hurricane in a jail filled with rapidly rising waters from the storm surge. Oh, and there just so happens to be a gaggle of menacing gators who are stalking them in the process. Can they put aside their obvious differences to band together to survive the night, or will the tension between them prove to be too much? And, more alarmingly, are they any match for the large, ferocious beasts that creep around every corner?

If you’re thinking that The Flood sounds reminiscent of your average man vs beast flick on the SyFy channel, you’d be correct. Much like those films, it offers little more than pure unadulterated, gory spectacle, without any superfluous deeper meaning or message. While it does manage to fit in plenty of conflict between the two groups of characters, and doesn’t waste time lagging on unnecessary subplots, everything from start to finish is pointedly base level in terms of overall storytelling. This seems to be exactly the filmmakers’ intention, however, and they make no bones about what you see is what you get.

The biggest issue with The Flood is the fact that it tries to unnecessarily fit too many converging storylines. Honestly, the threat of the storm, along with the mashing together of convicts and cops, would be compelling enough on its own. Throwing in the alligators makes it more sensational and horror-like, sure, but the peril of a catastrophic hurricane bearing down on these characters who are working together to survive is engaging enough of a plotline. Not to mention the fact that gators stalking people in a hurricane has been done before – recently even – with Crawl.

There are times when the CGI on the gators looks fairly believable, and then there are others when it leaves much to be desired. The inconsistency is not only puzzling, but also distracting. Nevertheless, the action rolls along with it, and the fight sequences and stunt coordination make up for the lack of impressiveness of the gators, which arguably should be the most eye-popping effects, but unfortunately just aren’t.

Not every movie can sweep awards season, nor should it be that way. For every creator who wants to make the next Great American Film, there’s just as many whose intention is for the audience to have a mindless good time. For those looking for the latter, The Flood takes a decent-sized bite out of trying to do just that.