Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2009

©Australian Film Commission and Black Water Films Pty Ltd 2007

This low-budget, high-atmosphere wilderness psychodrama from Down Under features a steadily diminishing number of holidaymaking Aussie city folk clinging desperately to mangrove trees in a northern swamp after their boat is overturned and their guide eaten by a massive and crafty crocodile… who’s still hungry. The action starts straightaway, and the tension is nicely maintained throughout thanks to some splendidly economical yet effective filmmaking: good writing, believable acting (Maeve Dermody stands out), superb cinematography, refreshing restraint and an eerie sense of place. Also a nice, creepy use of sound. The special effects are supplied by your imagination. (A concept that most horror directors seem to miss these days is that the real horror is in your head.) Thankfully, this is not a Jaws clone; there’s no sensationalism. More akin to, say, Open Water, with the message being that Nature is wondrous, but also quite lethal and completely lacking in guilt. That filmmakers Andrew Traucki and David Nerlich can scare you so completely and believably and do it on a budget of 1.2 million Aussie bucks is an admirable thing indeed.
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