The Flood (2023) Movie, Ending Explained – Why Did Newman Not Arrest Cody After Escaping From the Alligator-Infested Station?

The Flood (2023) Movie, Ending Explained: Natural disaster movies seldom rise above their popcorn flick status. Most of them are designed to enthrall and entertain the audience at the cost of botched-up superficial storytelling. Combine it with prison break and creature horror, and it becomes a wild cocktail of cheap thrills with not much left to say.

The Flood, directed by Brandon Sangler, is one such movie. It set its intention right from the beginning with a campy alligator attack – that it will be a bumpy romp. It achieved those results with middling effects, but I’ll try to explain the ending and dive deep into its alligator pond, hoping to come out safe and sound at the other end.

The Flood (2023) Plot Summary and Analysis:

Clarence and a girl take refuge in a small abandoned home from the torrential rains. A hurricane has caused flooding in Louisiana, leaving the two in this house, where they make arrangements for their safety. Suddenly, Clarence disappears from the open door, and the girl is astonished to see a giant alligator enter the room. She tries to hit it with a long stick, but it attacks her nonetheless.

A group of prisoners are being taken to another prison on a bus. The two drivers argue whether to wait for the storm or continue on their course. They decide to stay at the Louisiana Sheriff’s station for the night. The Sheriff, Jo Newman, receives the news with much disappointment.

A group of heavily armed attackers waits for the bus to take the turn but decides to follow it when it doesn’t turn. Sheriff Newman calls the moper and scolds him for not putting sandbags in the alley to soak the water. Two alligators enter the building through a pipe outlet on the roof. The moper goes into the basement to collect the sandbags while the prisoners arrive at the location. The attackers reach there too. 

The moper hears a sound in the water and thrush at his feet, making him dip his hands into it. Suddenly the alligator grabs his hands and pulls him inside. The attackers decide to stay at the insistence of their leader. The prisoners move inside while the leader reiterates the plan to rescue one of the convicts. 

Sheriff Newman warns the prisoners to stay peaceful else she may use her gun. Each prisoner comes forward and introduces himself. Russell Cody, the cop killer, is the one whom attackers aim to rescue. The attackers start shooting at Sheriff Newman and her deputy. One of the guards, Elkins, follows the sound and enters the shooting area. The leader tells Newman to throw her weapon and instruct others to do the same. Newman signals not to confront them, which he deliberately ignores. One of the attackers shoots him multiple times and falls on the ground, dead.

Sheriff Newman and her deputy agree to throw their weapons and come out. The leader asks them to take their group to Russell Cody’s cell. They free him, and the leader asks for the surveillance cameras, which Sheriff notifies them are not working. The leader tells them to verify the information, and Newman takes them there, with one remaining to oversee the other guard and deputy locked in Cody’s cell. The alligator kills one of the attackers left behind after being shot by Newman.

Newman tells the girl, Carter, with her to drop the plan. She keeps Newman moving while Cody tries to dissuade Rafe, the leader, from carrying out this rescue plan. He warns Rafe of the storm, but Rafe refuses to leave without him. In the storage room, two alligators attack Carter and Newman, killing Carter while Newman narrowly escapes by locking the door. 

Rafe goes towards the basement when Carter doesn’t come back. He finds the head of the previously killed mate floating on water. He meets Newman and warns her of the two alligators underwater, who came in through the vents. Both of them rush upstairs. The alligators follow them.

They reach the door and bang it. One of his men opens it, which floods the prisoner’s cells. An alligator catches hold of Rafe by his leg and drags him underwater. Cody holds him by his hand while the alligator chomps at Rafe’s leg. Eventually, he slips out of his hand, and the alligator carries him away while he closes the door.

Nate, one of the attackers, starts releasing the prisoner to kill the sheriff without any witnesses. Newman knocks out two of them, and Nate is about to shoot the guard and deputy when Cody holds him at gunpoint to stop. Nate reluctantly agrees, and all come out of their cells. They decide to go upwards, where they would be relatively safe from the alligators.

While going up, one guy remains behind while the door opens. The black prisoner holds him by his hand and then leaves him to die for his racist leanings. The deputy shoots one of them from above, thinking it is dead. While leaving, the alligator leaps up and drags the deputy down. 

One of the inmates plans to kill Newman and the guard and escape on the jet ski. Newman goes upstairs with Cody and the black inmate, while the guard and Nate stay with the other two inmates. Cody tells Newman how he got framed for killing a cop while Rafe and his team, who actually did it, got away with it. While they are searching for a weapon, an alligator enters through the door.

The alligator attacks the black inmate as Cody and Newman fire at it. The inmate, down with Nate and the guard, uses the distraction to attack the guard. He punches him furiously, knocking him unconscious. Nate watches the whole affair unfold without intervening. Newman shoots the alligator, but not before it kills the black inmate. The prisoner, who attacked the guard, shoots Jim, the other one, before ordering Nate to go. Suddenly, the roof above falls, and a sharp pipe pierces Nate, killing him instantly. Cody and Newman also fall on the ground with it. An alligator enters from behind and kills the prisoner about to escape.

Jim tries to use his experience with alligators to tame and contain the attacking alligator but fails miserably. Cody and Newman try to fight off the alligator while Rafe emerges from behind and shoots it.  Rafe and Cody plan to leave by the jet skis, while Newman insists on returning as she has a plan to kill the alligators. Cody reluctantly agrees but changes his mind mid-way, making Rafe furious. He snatches the keys from Rafe and requests him to save her and not kill another cop. Rafe tells him she is a witness, but Cody refuses to budge. He feigns submission and then attacks Cody by trying to drown him.

Newman shoots a gas cylinder when she sees alligators incoming from behind the door. The flames burn the alligators along with Rafe. Cody regains footing to see Rafe is nowhere in sight. 

The next morning, the two drive off on Jet Skis as Newman tells Cody she will report him dead instead of putting him behind bars.

The Flood (2023) Ending, Explained : 

Who was Russell Cody?

He was an ex-military officer who served in Afghanistan. He refused to carry out his CO’s order and had a heated quarrel with him that turned physical. So, he was discharged dishonorably from service, after which he started delivering packages for high-profile clients as he could not get a respectable job.

Why did Rafe and his team come to rescue him?

He met Rafe during one of those delivery assignments. Rafe and his other team members were also ex-military soldiers discharged with dishonor. He offered 20,000 dollars to be a getaway driver for a risky job to Cody. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned, and Rafe and his gang shot at the cops. Cody drove away with the money just before they got in and stashed it somewhere. When he reached the rendezvous point, the cops showed up and arrested him for shooting a cop, which he didn’t, though he participated in the robbery.

So Rafe and his team members came to rescue him to get their share of the money, which he stashed someplace.

Why did Newman not arrest Cody after escaping from the alligator-infested station?

Newman understood that Cody was a victim of circumstance and was not a hardened criminal like the other prisoners. Plus, he stayed back for her despite protests from Rafe, who wanted her dead as she witnessed their escapade. This honesty in Cody prompted Newman to let him off the hook by declaring him dead like the other prisoners. She thought he deserved a second chance as his conscience was clear. He was willing to rectify his mistakes, which greatly impressed Newman.

Also, Read: Hunt Her, Kill Her (2023) Review – A Taut Survival Thriller

The Flood (2023) Movie Information

The Flood (2023) External Link: Rotten Tomatoes
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Mystery & thriller
Original Language: English
Director: Brandon Slagle
Producer: Daemon Hillin
Writer: Chad Law, Josh Ridgway
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 14, 2023  Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 14, 2023
Runtime: 1h 31m