Black Water (2007)

Directors:

David Nerlich
Andrew Traucki

Writers:

David Nerlich (writer)
Andrew Traucki (writer)

Release Date:

22 February 2008 (UK)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

What You Can't See Can Hurt You.

Plot:

A terrifying tale of survival in the mangrove swamps of Northern Australia

Plot Keywords:

Boat | Crocodile | River | Tourist | Survival

Awards:

2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Diana Glenn	...	Grace
Maeve Dermody	...	Lee
Andy Rodoreda	...	Adam
Ben Oxenbould	...	Jim
Fiona Press	...	Pat

MPAA:

Rated R for terror/violence and language.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Australia:MA (2008) | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-18 (self applied) | Japan:G | Netherlands:16

Company:

Australian Film Commission, The

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The "crocodile" is actually an alligator. You can tell from the skin texture. Crocodiles have smooth skin; alligators have rough skin.

Movie Connections:

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

BLACK WATER (David Nerlich and Andrew Traucki, 2007) ***

I'd never heard of this Aussie horror prior to Michael Elliott's enthusiastic review; in fact, after having read it, I decided to check if the DVD was available at my local rental outlet and it was (albeit a German edition i.e. sans the R1 extras), so I opted to check the film out immediately.

While I wouldn't go so far as to give it full marks – only a select few titles get them from me, let alone an obscure modern flick – I have to say that I was quite impressed with BLACK WATER. Rather than looking back to previous crocodile movies, such as ALLIGATOR (1980) and LAKE PLACID (1999), it evokes the memory of two which saw a small group of people who go on a trip, get lost and find themselves at the mercy of the elements and the creatures inhabiting the place – namely LONG WEEKEND (1978), itself a little-seen but impressive Australian production, and OPEN WATER (2005).

The compact, simply-plotted film involves a couple and the woman's younger sister who decide to go fishing in a remote and forbidding part of the Australian wilderness, known as crocodile territory; very soon (in fact, before even 15 minutes have elapsed!), their boat is capsized and the guide killed by an alligator – so our luckless adventurers take refuge up a tree. The DVD Talk reviewer believes the film suffers from spending too much time in this one location – with the three arguing about what they should do, attempts to retrieve the boat, seeking a way out of the jungle through the trees (only to be met with nothing but water) and the occasional attack by the monster. However, I think the makers take the situation as far as it will go without slipping into tedium: this is due to the palpable suspense and, as Michael said, the believability of the characters (particularly the two women)…but also the fact that the crocodile here makes for one of the scariest and most memorable in recent memory (I wonder how they got it to 'perform')!

I also agree with Mike that the film contains some really effective shock moments – the alligator leaping out of the water to take a bite at the petrified heroes; its head suddenly emerging in front of the women as they're making for the boat; even though one of them does reach the vehicle, the monster manages to lift its massive weight and get in the boat with her!; towards the end, as the same girl manages to find a gun (on the mangled body of their guide), loads it and lies in wait for the alligator to appear, the latter sneaks up from behind her (incidentally, the creature is bestowed with the craftiness of the shark in JAWS [1975]). With this in mind, the finale is just as crowd-pleasing (though on an obviously smaller scale) as that of the classic Spielberg blockbuster – even if it has a downbeat follow-up. Another definite asset is the film's sparse score – which is generally rather lovely, but becoming unnerving at just the right moments.

At the end of the day, BLACK WATER emerges as a breath of fresh air in the face of the demoralizing slump into which horror cinema has fallen of late; for this reason alone, it deserves greater exposure so as to remind us that there's hope yet for our beloved genre (without the real necessity of resorting to the gimmickry of a CLOVERFIELD [2008] to command attention)…