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How entertaining? ★★★☆☆
Thought provoking? ★☆☆☆☆ 16 January 2011
This a movie review of THE REEF. |
“This boat is going to sink. There is land over there, and that’s where I think we should be going,” Luke (Damian Walshe-Howling)
What a tag-line for this film, “Pray you drown first.” Nice. That’s what you what from a killer-shark movie. I love the B-movie subgenres when done well: monsters (TREMORS), alien invasion (CLOVERFIELD), and zombies (DAWN OF THE DEAD). However, THE REEF does not fall into those categories; it is a survival picture, humankind against nature, but not the elements – one of its creatures. The closest cinema siblings are OPEN WATER and ADRIFT, rather than DEEP BLUE SEA or that other movie that Spielberg did...it’s on the tip of my tongue...it’ll come to me.
What a tag-line for this film, “Pray you drown first.” Nice. That’s what you what from a killer-shark movie. I love the B-movie subgenres when done well: monsters (TREMORS), alien invasion (CLOVERFIELD), and zombies (DAWN OF THE DEAD). However, THE REEF does not fall into those categories; it is a survival picture, humankind against nature, but not the elements – one of its creatures. The closest cinema siblings are OPEN WATER and ADRIFT, rather than DEEP BLUE SEA or that other movie that Spielberg did...it’s on the tip of my tongue...it’ll come to me.
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A group of friends in Australia take a trip out in a yacht, with a crewman, Warren. They are led by Luke, whose very cool job is to deliver boats around the world. His mate Matt and Matt’s girlfriend Suzie are from London, and Matt’s sister Kate from Sydney also happens to be Luke’s ex. Ok, up to speed with the relationships? Good. All on board seem quite quiet souls, speaking credible dialogue. This is no ADRIFT, with wooden acting and crummy, overwrought interactions. The director picked a relatively unknown cast who can act and didn’t force-feed them bogus b.s.; so they are not grating to be around, and not stock types where you can guess at who will be picked off first/next.
After shots of beautiful scenery and seascapes, what we’ve been waiting for happens; the boat hits something and sinks. It sinks extremely fast. Perhaps the budget wouldn’t allow for a dramatic capsizing, or that’s actually what happens in such a situation. Either way the five end up on an upturned boat debating what to do. They have two choices, stay on the yacht and wait for rescue, or swim for an island they visited earlier 10 to 12 miles away. Not an obvious answer! Without revealing who decides what, the group divides. Apart from one small cut away the rest of the film follows those who attempt to swim to hopeful salvation.
One of the pleasures in this film is the quandary as to whether to stay. After they’ve made their decision the film gets less engaging. Don’t get me wrong, being stalked by a killer shark has moments of real tension, especially as the film claims to be based on a true story. This is a decent calling card for writer-producer-director Andrew Traucki. The problem is, is that the film ebbed and flowed too regularly as people got picked off. Having said that, I did feel drained by the climax, which shows the movie silently sneaked up on me!
