Dark Age (1987)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Arch Nicholson

Writers:

Sonia Borg (writer)
Stephen Cross (screenplay)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Death is only one bite away.

Plot:

In the Australian outback, a park ranger and two local guides set out to track down a giant crocodile...

Plot Keywords:

Crocodile | Park Ranger | Boat | Conversation | Possession

Cast

John Jarratt	...	Steve Harris
Nikki Coghill	...	Cathy Pope
Max Phipps	...	John Besser
Burnham Burnham	...	Oondabund
David Gulpilil	...	Adjaral
Ray Meagher	...	Rex Garret
Jeff Ashby	...	Mac Wilson
Paul Bertram	...	Jackson
Ron Blanchard	...	Bluey Noakes
Gerry Duggan	...	Joe Blunt
Ken Radley	...	Reynolds
Janet Kingsbury	...	Ann Wilson
James Fitzgerald	...	Smithy
Hank Mosby	...	Hitchens
James Mann	...	Hitching

Also Known As:

Blood Surf 2 (Philippines: English title) (bootleg title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Company:

F.G. Film Productions

Trivia:

This film remains unreleased in its country of origin, Australia. This is apparently due to Avco Embassy owning the Australian distribution rights but they went bust just prior to the films release.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)

Don't Worry, it's only Numunwari.

The story of a ranger and two local aborgines who are trying to stop Numunwari (a giant Salt-Water Crocodile) from causing further havoc in their local waters. Throw in some violent poachers and a side story with a love interest and you have Dark Age.

Dark Age is basically Australia's answer to Jaws. There are even some scenes that seem to be totally ripped off, but obviously executed in a different manner. Actually, I think I preferred some of the cinematography in Dark Age over Jaws. I think I liked a couple other aspects maybe a little more or at least as much as Jaws. Don't get me wrong, Jaws is a 10 (in my book) and this is a 7.5 (in my book, which is titled These Balls Be Jigglin!)

The flick like I said had a side story with some lovey doveyness, and to be honest, it had completely care free results. Totally could have been done without. Though I do appreciate the sex scene. And overall, the acting was kinda hit and miss. Some guys had it, some people didn't. And damn, maybe it was my copy, but I had a toughass time understanding our aboriginal friends. Though I do like how they talk. It was a film that had a decent amount of horror and action, but it all felt a tad lackluster and the film would have seriously been memorable if it just had a couple more death scenes.

Being such a big fan of our cold-blooded aquatic pals, I almost had to see this rare gem of a flick. With a nice twist on the monster animal genre and what seemed to be some under lying messages, the flick delivered more than just an action/horror/adventure flick. If you have any interest in giant animal flicks, you should definitely check this out. 7.5 outta 10