My review was written in July 1988 after watching the film on Charter video cassette.
Australia's answer to "Jaws", "Dark Age" is a competently made horror film about a legendary large croc on the rampage. It's not a strong enough title on its own and got lost in the distribution pipeline before its current home video release.
Local color (atmospherically filmed in far north Queensland and Northern Territory) highlights this tall tale of Numunwari, a 25-foot long crocodile held sacred by the aborigines. Storms cause the beastie to head down river and start eating humans.
John Jarratt plays a government ranger who's fighting poachers and trying to save crocs from extinction. Ironically, he's assigned by his government superior to hunt down the big beast, while every amateur hunter in sight uses the emergency as an excuse to declare open season on all crocs.
Aboriginal folklore gives "Dark Age" its own flavor, but too many scenes and plot devices directly ape "Jaws" to cornball effect. The issue of protecting local interests against the adverse publicity of recurring croc attacks, the ultimate 3-man trek (Jarratt and two aborigines) after the beast and a very familiar scene of kids swimming peacefully in a harbor when the croc arrives to attack lack originality.
Jarratt is an appealing hero, with the lovely Nikki Coghill effective as an anthropologist and romantic interest. Burnam Burnam is solid as the aboriginal elder, supported ably by David Gulpilil.
Director Arch Nicholson (of HBO's Rachel Ward-starrer "Fortress") has a topflight technical team, but the killer croc's fake look doesn't help to generate scares or suspense.
