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Black Water (2007)

Director: Andrew Traucki, David Nerlich

Time Out rating

Average user rating

20 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Based on a true story, this scary horror movie makes effective use of one striking location and one strong idea. In a remote Australian swamp, three terrified holidaymakers confront a primeval predator. Trapped up a flimsy tree, the three bicker, shiver and weigh their options, while a crocodile that has capsized their boat and eaten their guide prowls below.

There are obvious, but not unflattering, similarities with another low-budget ‘survival horror’ movie, ‘Open Water’, which fashioned a meaty and involving storyline using only two drifting sub-aqua divers, the open sea and a circling shark. Rather than create an expensive CGI croc, writer-directors Andrew Traucki and David Nerlich used cheap digital technology to stitch together footage of real crocodiles with the dramatic scenes. Tapping into the primeval fear generated by these perfectly evolved killing machines, the filmmakers ratchet up the tension, while sustaining our interest in the fate of the trio.

Author: Derek Adams 2008-02-19 11:38:52

Time Out London Issue 1957: Feb 20 to 26

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User reviews of this film

fred said...

Posted on Jul 12 2009 19:38 Well, sorry, I enjoyed it. I like peril films and thought this one was up to scratch. All of us have - in an instant -blindly ( even cheerily) walked into a situation where, shockingly suddenly, we got that sick feeling in the pit of the stomach and realised we had put ourselves in real danger.This film captured that ' how could I be so stupid' moment.

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jason said...

Posted on Sep 16 2008 04:46 crap! wasting time and money for this movie.

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Jade said...

Posted on Aug 09 2008 10:24 I thought it was a great movie, one of the best horror films i have ever seen. Its a great story and it made me jump out of my skin alot of the time.

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bill said...

Posted on Mar 19 2008 12:38 Clearly not a film for inarticulate 'tards!

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dom said...

Posted on Mar 08 2008 14:38 How bloody crap shit naff wank this film is shud o bk home bloody pants naf balls poostains crappy boring naf crap film never been so bored in my life absolutly shockin

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sils said...

Posted on Mar 07 2008 20:56 would prefur 2 lik mi own balls than watch it again

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sils said...

Posted on Mar 07 2008 20:54 right this is a fukin shyt film how the fuk wo it relised fukin priks it wo shit y did i waist mi money lil shit fukin rubber crok woooooooow dick

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wt the hell said...

Posted on Mar 06 2008 17:40 I agree this film should of never come 2 the uk awful film absolutly naf and completer waste of time

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bon said...

Posted on Mar 06 2008 14:50 Absolutly sh*t knob eds wt were they thinkin crap film shud go back to ozzy land priks

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Warren said...

Posted on Feb 29 2008 15:25 for a very simple concept film thought it was done very with a small budget.acting was ok ,the best actor was the croc! crocs still rules!

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Lucy said...

Posted on Feb 28 2008 22:52 This is a brilliant movie! The acting is fantastic, the atmosphere is gripping and the tension is unbearable! I jumped out of my skin many times. How anyone can find it boring is beyond me....if you enjoy thrillers/horrors you must see this movie, it is FAB!

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David said...

Posted on Feb 27 2008 14:27 About ten minutes of this film have genuine tension and the actors are ok, although my partner and i were willing the guy to get killed from the moment he opened his mouth. The problem is that the movie is predictable and needs more money shits, and the endung is ludicrous

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laggard said...

Posted on Feb 26 2008 21:23 a great taut thriller made on low budget, but packs a surprising amount of thrills while always keeping it all very real.

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Tamati said...

Posted on Feb 25 2008 00:48 To sum black water up - agressively boring. There comes a horrible relaisation in this film that the "action" isn't going to move from this one point. There is a part of the movie when night falls and there everything is in pitch darkness except for flashes of lightening. This bit was really well done and atmospheric. However it lasted no more than 2 minutes and set me up for a huge dissappointment when it returned to daylight and I sunk back into my seat upon seeing that this film was infact NOT going to get good.
If you have five pounds that you absolutely MUST get rid of and want nothing to show for, if 3 bad actors crying in a tree for an hour and a half is your idea of entertainment and you are greatly apposed to any kind of plot development then this film is for you!

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charlie said...

Posted on Feb 21 2008 17:16 Awesome thriller, well worth checking out.

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