Rogue

Greg McLean is looking to be someone to watch out for. After scaring audiences witless with his Aussie outback shocker "Wolf Creek" and hurting the Australian Tourism Board immensely his back at it again. However, this time he replaces a serial killer with a 7 metre saltwater crocodile who's hungry for humans and luckily a boat full of them arrives at his doorstep.

McLean doesn't waste time with a huge story, it is very basic and to the point. Pete McKell is an American travel writer who travels the world and writes about the places he visits. He is sent to the Northern Territory to go on a river cruise which is lead by Kate Ryan (Radha Mitchell). On board there are plenty of other tourists waiting to become bait.

The movie starts off with some beautiful scenes of Australian outback, they are absolutely stunning. When the action starts, though, it never lets up. For the rest of the movie I was on the edge of my seat, McLean really knows how to racket up the tension. It helps that the river is murky and we don't see too much of our monster until the end. And when we do see our crocodile friend it is amazing. Part CG and part animatronics, the crocodile looks very good and very menacing.

The acting is good all round, although the characters aren't hugely deep, the actors do a good job of making us love them or hate them. Particularly good is John Jarret (of Wolf Creek fame) and Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill).

For those that like blood and gore you won't be too disappointed, there is some and it's nice and bloody when it comes.

3½/5

This is the third croc movie I've seen, after the first Lake Placid (which was quite fun) and the Dominic Purcell starring Primeval, which I was pleasantly surprised with, and felt was actually a political film disguised as a croc film.

2007 was a ripe year for croc films, with the aforementioned Primeval, Australian flick Black Water, and now another Australian flick, Rogue, writer/director Greg Mclean second feature effort after the well-received 2005 gorefest Wolf Creek.

I got to see this film in the cinema, and let me tell you it was worth it. The film is simply beautiful to look at. Mclean and his unfortunately now dead cinematographer Will Gibson offer some amazing, breathtaking shots of Australia's Northern Territory (where the story is set). Seriously, I cannot stress how beautiful this movie's setting is, you have to see it to believe it.

However stunning visuals do not a good movie make, and thankfully Greg Mclean and his team deliver the goods in the other departments as well. Have you ever been disappointed by that "keeping the monster hidden makes him more effective" rule of monster movies? Well Mclean actually pulls it off. You almost never see the croc during the first part of the movie, yet his presence is felt at every turn. The pacing is just right, the atmosphere is appropriately tense and the characters are pretty believable. Unfortunately, the film becomes slightly less interesting during its second part, where Rogue takes a more conventional turn.

Nevertheless, I'd recommend watching Rogue, even if you're not that into horror films, as Mclean's mastery, originality and inventiveness is felt throughout, from the superb opening to the awesome rendition of the Disney song "Never Smile At A Crocodile" which accompanies the end credits.

On a side note, I'm not sure how happy Australia's tourism board are with director Greg Mclean. On the one hand, he captures the beauty of the setting in a way not often seen, but on the other, you won't want to go anywhere near that place after seeing Rogue. Especially considering the size of our killer croc is apparently entirely plausible. Scary stuff.

I saw Rogue this morning at a preview screening in Melbourne, I've been looking forward to this film for some time. I don't want to say that it was a disappointment as it is a solid effort. There is nothing that stands out as something I think should have been done differently.

Some wandering British and American accents from the mostly Australian cast can be forgiven.

The obvious difference between the locations in the Northern Territory and those in Victoria caused a brief chuckle (mainly because director Greg McLean introduced the film and commented that he hoped the transition would be seamless), though this may go unnoticed by foreign (non-Australian) audiences.

Visual effects were highly competent, I doubt that the average cinema-goer will pick the matte paintings or have an issues with the CG croc.

The main issue I have is that the film lacks the suspense and excitement of a truly great monster/horror film. Due to the nature of the material this will have to be compared to Jaws and Rogue will inevitably suffer. A fairer comparison has to be Lake Placid, and in that scenario Rogue also comes off second best. Rogue lacks the suspense and the humour of the American monster Croc effort.

This follow up to Wolf Creek was written long before the surprise Aussie hit, Rogue has the hallmarks of a first feature script, hitting all of the genre conventions without ever attaining any moments of originality.

If you enjoy this kind of monster movie (and I do) you'll find it a decent way to spend a couple of hours, you won't be missing much if you see it on DVD. Apart from Radha Mitchell looking great in khaki shorts, and believably playing a 28 yr old, though she has to be at least 35.

Nice job over all, good job, not great but good.

I thought this would be a real cheesy B movie but was in for a great surprise.

Starting with the cinematography and the initial town scenes I figured this may be half decent. Things picked up even more with the scenes on the boat introducing the characters. Small touches like the guy letting his loved ones ashes into the water and the photographer having a sly chow down on a hidden sandwich were really cool touches. Bigger budget films should take note! It got better from there, not showing too much of the croc and building suspense with good pacing and realistic reactions from the cast. The cinematography and editing on the river journey were great. After seeing this I almost want to go to the Northern Territories. Almost, but not after the Croc finally shows its face.

This is one primal beast. The film does a good job of keeping it under wraps for the early portion of the film but when it finally shows its face its a great moment. The visual fx are faultless and the croc acts in a very realistic manner.

In the second act the filmmakers do a great job at ratcheting up suspense, using a great set up involving the river. I wont spoil it here but its so simple but very effective.

I am a jaded monster film fan and this one had me wanting to see it for a second time straight away.

Crocs and Alligators seem to be the whipping boys of the film industry with so many comedy or low budget appearances. To finally to see one with real teeth and to give it a go with a good story and great fx is fantastic. I would recommend this to anyone after a monster night out.

A boatload of tourists gets trapped on a tiny island and hunted by a huge crocodile. I watched this not knowing what to expect but having a general liking for B movies, especially what I call "aquatic horror." Compared to others in that genre I thought Rogue was very well written, well acted, and quite suspenseful. I saw a review that criticized it for lacking a sense of humor, which is a fair criticism, and it's true some scary movies just don't work without the humor. But this one was straight-up suspense, more realistic than over-the-top: it invoked no radiation accidents to create the horror nor presented any seriously improbable approaches to attempt to escape it. It was closer to a drama about how people might act in a desperate situation. I also liked that it had a large enough cast of quickly-delineated characters to play the "who will survive game?" without any certainty you'd get it right. Along with plenty of scary moments. Recommended.