I think the film is tight, and it’s just a popcorn crunching thrill ride, as opposed to it being weighed down by too much character development and emotion and conversation.
I think, geographically, the audience doesn’t know where the alligators are, and the threat could be anywhere once the water rises.
I think this fanbase expects a pretty fast and wild ride, which is great.
There was far more of the character relationship in the first draft of the script.