Black Water

Black Water, co-directed and written by David Nerlich and Andrew Traucki, is very simple in its execution yet effective. The film is a low-budget Australian movie that will unfortunately not get the recognition it deserves because as far as creature features go, this is one of the best out there. The setup is rather basic; Grace, her husband Adam and her younger sister Lee are touring some mangroves in the Northern Territory when a saltwater crocodile flips their boat and leaves them stranded in the trees. The whole movie is about their survival while the crocodile is lurking below waiting to strike.Unlike Greg McLean's Rogue (another killer croc movie released earlier in 2007), Black Water is not about the audience having fun guessing who's gonna be eaten next, it is about hoping and praying that the three people will get out safely.

The three unknown actors do a great job with pretty demanding roles, considering it was filmed on location with a real crocodile instead of CGI. The characters act realistically in the situation and the dialogue seems natural and not forced. Suspense is built up throughout the entire film, we do not see a lot of the creature but just knowing it is near is terrifying enough. This is edge-of-your seat stuff and highly recommended if you enjoy original and (most importantly) scary horror films.

4/5

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)

"Black Water" is one of the most tense films I have viewed in a long time. The story moves fast as it follows three tourists (all great actors) into a swamp on a tour with a butch tour guide on a small boat. Soon after dropping anchor in a remote area of the swamp, they are flipped over by something huge in the water.

Hastily, the three manage to make it into a tall tree nearby as they realize that a crocodile has attacked them. Throughout the next two days, they have to desperately try to escape from the crocodile's evil watchful eye, and he doesn't seem to want to go away. The movie drags just a tad bit, but what can you expect from the setting and the limited budget? It's so much better than "Primeval" and other recent crocodile/ underwater predator thrillers. The tension is heavy, and all three leads give terrific performances. Truly chilling, this movie struck a deep chord of claustrophobic fear in me. Apparently based on true events.

This low budget crocodile movie really delivers the goods. The fact that it was inspired by true events would mean little if you wound up with a fake looking crocodile, bad C.G.I., or an obvious studio setting. Fortunately none of the above are involved with this terrific, very realistic film. The crocodile is real, there is no C.G.I., and the on location filming takes place in an actual Australian swamp. The actors were obviously inspired to create as much realism as possible in their performances, and they succeed. You can place yourself in their predicament, which is testament to how realistically "Black Water" translates as entertainment. Highly recommended. - MERK

While on vacation on Northern Australia, Gracie (Diana Glenn), her husband Adam (Andy Rodoreda) and her younger sister Lee (Maeve Dermody) decide to take the Blackwater Barry tour in the swamp for fishing. Their guide Jim (Ben Oxenbould) uses a small motor boat and takes the tourist along the river to a remote spot. When they stop, they are attacked by a huge crocodile that capsizes their boat and immediately kills Jim. The three survivors climb a tree and when they realize that help would never come to rescue them, they decide to try to find a way out of their sheltered location. However, in the muddy water, their boat is flipped and the crocodile stalks the trio under the water.

"Black Water" is a tense, realistic and dramatic low-budget movie and in accordance with the warning in the beginning, based on a true event. The acting of the unknown Diana Glenn, Maeve Dermody and Andy Rodoreda is top-notch, giving credibility to this simple but scary story. There are many similarities between this movie and "Prey", but in different environments. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Medo Profundo" ("Deep Fear")