(3.5 STARS) Solid and Entertaining B-Thriller
Added 9/2/2009
Three travelers taking a fishing tour are left in the midst of mangrove swamps of Northern Australia. There is no one to guide them back to the town. The cell phone is dead. No one is likely to come where they are stranded. And somewhere in the muddy water a huge crocodile is hiding, waiting for the chance to eat them one by one.
"Black Water" is a solid B-suspense movie. Unlike other killer animal thrillers like "Alligator" (1980), "Black Water" employs a more realistic approach to tell the story of three hapless travelers and one deadly croc, cleverly using the swamp as the backdrop. Obviously this Australian film was shot with a minimal budget, but the film's atmospheric photography is impressive enough to make us believe the presence of the lurking danger. Sometimes cheap special effects ruin the film in this kind of low budget suspense films, but this doesn't happen in "Black Water."
The film claims it is "based on true events" (I don't know anything about the events the film refers to), but actually the storyline of "Black Water" is pretty familiar to the fans of the genre. Don't get me wrong. This is not to say the film is bad. The acting is very good, and the film's direction is steady and solid, but honestly, the story after the first croc attack is not very surprising. Also, some of the dialogues delivered on a tree are just unnecessary..
There are many suspense films featuring wild animals attacking humans and "Jaws" always comes top of the list. "Black Water" may not be as thrilling as Spielberg's classic, but it is still entertaining.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Black Water ROCKS!
Added 5/16/2009
the merchant from which i purchased was awesome. great price, speedy delivery. i will definitely buy from them again. and i love the movie!!!
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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I LIKED IT
Added 4/22/2009
BLACK WATER
Black Water is a movie about a group of friends who go out into the water one day with a tour guide to go fishing. After leaving from their mother's house two sisters and one's boyfriend head out for a road trip. After visiting a croc farm they decide it is time to go fishing, doesn't seem like the right move right? So after getting a guide to take them out they spend an uneventful day out on the water that is until the boat rocks. Turns out a very big croc was waiting underneath them and pushed the boat over. That was the last time the guide was seen, and the other three make their way up a tree. From here on out the movie is all about these three in the tree and the croc below.
I remember watching this the first time and thinking here we go another nature run amuck flick that is supposedly based on true events. To my surprise this movie turned out to be good, much better than I expected. From what I can gather this is based on true events from a group of friends that were swimming or something and one got pulled underneath and was gone while the other two made it up a tree. Whether this is true or not it is still an effective and entertaining flick that all should enjoy. I personally like to think that this is based on some truth that is real close to this event. Don't get me wrong I don't like that people got ate alive but knowing that this is true adds a little something to it.
This movie is far from the best thing ever made but it is an effective enough film on the level that it does have a bit on tension to it. I like that the filmmakers stuck to the less is more rule and only showed the croc when necessary. I especially like when the camera just looks to the water and nothing ever appears, then right when you are getting the feeling ever thing is ok just the top of the croc's head appears right in front of someone. Writer/directors David Nerlich and Andrew Traucki did a great job in my opinion on this indie flick about a killer croc.
As far as performances go they only add to the tension since the small cast all do great jobs. The guys are good in this the boyfriend goes from a geeky looking dude to trying to be the hero, it doesn't work out. But it is the actresses that play the two sisters that steal the show from the boys in this one; the younger one in particular is great. Add in the atmosphere of the film and you have an enjoyable little killer croc flick there are more enjoyable films on this subject if you want gore or even comedy elements in croc/alligator flicks. But if you want a cool indie flick with a good amount of tension, I liked it. There has been comparisons to a little shark flick you may have heard of called "Open Water", both are based on true events.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Murky Choices
Added 3/23/2009
It's rare to find a horror film which draws so much of its drama from the contemplation of its characters.. A tense thriller which received an unfortunate straight-to-DVD release in the US, sporting cover-art so uninspired I'd be surprised if this movie found its true fans. One major bonus is the lack of CGI in "Black Water" - real crocodiles take the place of computer generated cartoons, making the creature scenes all the more real.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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amazingly amazing
Added 3/1/2009
the cover looks trashy and very B movie like, plus i am not a big fan of horror movies that contain crocodiles,apes,snakes etc. the more i was happily surprised about black water. u can never really tell its low budget and it kept me on the edge of my sofa almost the entire time. u get sucked into the atmosphere...especially knowing this is based on true events makes it even more chilling.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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