Black Water (2007)

Directors:

David Nerlich
Andrew Traucki

Writers:

Andrew Traucki (written by)
David Nerlich (written by)

Release Date:

22 February 2008 (Ireland)

Genre:

Action | 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 | Water | Crocodile | Tourist | Tree

Awards:

2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

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

Directed by
David Nerlich
Andrew Traucki

Writing credits
Andrew Traucki		(written by) &
David Nerlich		(written by)

Produced by
Paul Cowan	....	co-producer
Michelle Harrison	....	executive producer
Germaine McCormack-Kos	....	executive producer
David Nerlich	....	producer
Paul Ranford	....	line producer
Michael Robertson	....	producer
Gary Rogers	....	executive producer
Andrew Traucki	....	producer
Chris Wheeldon	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Rafael May

Cinematography by
John Biggins

Film Editing by
Rodrigo Balart

Production Design by
Aaron Crothers

Costume Design by
Justine Seymour

Makeup Department
Catherine Biggs	....	hair stylist
Paul Katte	....	special makeup effects
Nick Nicolaou	....	special makeup effects
Sheldon Wade	....	makeup designer

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ian Astridge	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Sam Johnson	....	art department assistant
Simon Way	....	stand-by props

Sound Department
Shanti Burn	....	boom operator
David Glasser	....	sound recordist
Andrew Neil	....	sound effects editor
Michael Thompson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michael Thompson	....	sound supervisor
Mario Vaccaro	....	foley artist

Special Effects by
Lloyd Finnemore	....	special effects consultant

Visual Effects by
Dan Ashton	....	film recording technician
Nick Booth	....	film recording supervisor
Peter Jeffs	....	compositor
David Nerlich	....	visual effects creator
Stephen Roucher	....	film recording technician
Andrew Traucki	....	visual effects producer
Pete Williams	....	film recording manager

Stunts
Harry Dakanalis	....	stunt coordinator
Anthony Molinari	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Simeon Bryan	....	camera operator
Steven Schofield	....	gaffer

Editorial Department
Sophie Dick	....	assistant editor

Music Department
James Edward Barker	....	composer: additional music (UK trailer segment)

Other crew
Mike Cowap	....	project manager: Australian Film Commission
Ingrid Kleinig	....	assistant safety

Production Companies

• Australian Film Commission, The (presents)
• Territorial Film Developments (TFD) (presents)
• ProdigyMovies

Distributors

• All Interactive Distribution (2008) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Cinestar (2009) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Presidio (2009) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Film1 (2008) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Free Dolphin Entertainment (2008) (France) (DVD)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Grindstone Entertainment Group
• Maiandros Entertainment Group (2011) (Greece) (DVD)
• Movie Bank (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (rental)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2007) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Makeup Effects Group Studio

Other Companies

• Soundfirm  sound post-production

Also Known As:

"Predator" - Philippines (English title)

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 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Mexico:B | South Korea:12 | Brazil:12 | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

Company:

Australian Film Commission, The

Trivia:

One of two Australian crocodile movies made and released in 2007. The other picture was Rogue (2007).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Later in the film, when there are two characters sitting in a tree, you can clearly see a crew member's arm in the bottom right of the picture.

Movie Connections:

References E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

No spectacular slaughters but effective survival suspense

Black Water is not your typical creature slaughter fest where it's one victim after the other with plenty of blood and gore. It's a rather intimate psychological suspense with practically no gore and little blood. It's set in some mangrove swamps in Australia. A few tourists are stranded far from civilization and no hope of rescue on trees surrounded by water with an immersed crocodile lurking unseen . It's a movie from the school of the least you see of the monster, the scarier it is. I was first taken aback by the long period of waiting without much happening. Heck, I even found it a little boring and was afraid it was one of those no-budget films always teasing the monster but never really showing it, or when they did, it was lame.

On hindsight, I think that the creators clearly tried to slowly make you paranoid about where the crocodile was exactly and in that they were rather successful. There was a nice build-up of tension and the characters looked genuinely frightened. The movie did have a real life aspect to it and the unknown actors (at least in North America) really helped. The crocodile was well done and although sometimes I thought it was a prop (when only the head was showing), it was apparently a real croc composited in. Not CGI, not animatronics and yes the characters eventually seem to be in the same frame and not always filmed separately. My most memorable moment involved the crocodile jumping out of the water higher than you would expect... I also liked the night with the flashes of lightning, going from dark to anguished faces constantly. I didn't like seeing the mostly calm water so much but I understand the reasoning behind it. I didn't expect this kind of realistic claustrophobic siege by one crocodile when I rented it but it turned out reasonably entertaining. Like the stranded characters though, it's better to be patient...

Rating: 6.5 out of 10 (good)