The Reef (2010)

Second movie and then tomorrow August recommendation month starts 🙂

Other than zombie horror flicks, I love watching predator horror flicks.  You know, like Jaws, being the classic which is worth a mention.  Who doesn’t like Jaws, right? Hell, I may fear jellyfish in our disgusting brown color water beaches but when I’m in a pool, I think about sharks being in the deep area and start panicking.  Stupid as that sounds, but hey I don’t live in water luckily and I live in a house with a roof over my head so even though these flicks scare me, at least they won’t take sleep away 😉 Somehow on Saturday night, I felt like watching one of these, and out of my Netflix, The Reef caught my attention. I remember reading a review a few months ago, but where? I can’t remember. If you did a review and I follow you, well, tell me and I’ll give you a mention on this!

Director: Andrew Traucki

Cast: Damian Walshe-Howling, Gyton Grantley, Adrienne Pickering, Zoe Naylor, Kieran Darcy-Smith

Luke (Damian Walshe-Howling) is a ship delivery man.  On his next delivery, he invites his friend Matt (Gyton Grantley) and his wife Suzie (Adrienne Pickering) on for the ride.  Tagging along is Matt’s sister and his former girlfriend Kate (Zoe Naylor) and the sailor Warren (Kieran Darcy-Smith) for the trip.  As they go on their way, the boat hits an underwater rock and capsizes.  They now have to make a decision to stay on the boat or to swim to a possible but unseen Turtle Island located 12 miles away while they had the strength and before the boat drifted further away by the current.  Warren fears the sharks lurking in the water and decides to stay but the other four decide to take their chances.  Not long after, a Great White Shark follows and hunts them along the way…

The Reef is an amazing shark predator flick. Is it as good as Jaws, you ask? Its probably not but it comes pretty close to it. The movie works really well with just bringing up the atmosphere and using the camera to show a farther view when the group is in the water.  Its mega intense for a good part of the movie and some parts are nail-biting and heart thumping, especially the final sequence. I had to take a few deep breaths to get some oxygen back into my lungs after holding my breath for so long.

Aside from being able to create a good atmosphere and great shark cut scenes, the cast was the main focus.  The only thing surrounding them was just water and they had to be able to play off each other well in order to get a great effect.  The cast did a great job! Everyone was sufficiently able to capture the scary moments of being in the ocean, lost, uncertain and scared about what was around them however, having no choice but to move forward despite all odds.  The only person I wasn’t too fond of was the character of Suzie.  As much as I understood the character design and it improved as the movie went forward but there was a few moments I found her irritating. The others were fantastic though.

Till now, I’ve only talked about the general concept of atmosphere. This movie uses simple noises: bangs, creaks, splashes and especially silence to intensify the atmosphere.  Its pretty effective! Less is more definitely applies to this flick.   There was one thing that did bother me though, and it was this same ridiculous and unnecessary decision that the members of the group kept making, maybe at a certain point it was foreshadowing, maybe not (I think it might be to fool the audience a little).  I’m not quite sure but it did make me super nervous, so maybe it wasn’t a negative aspect.  It was just to play with our minds a little and trick us into thinking of the expected and then pulling the unexpected, and in the after thought now, I actually think was a really smart move by the director.

Its definitely a very awesome shark predator flick.  It was intensely terrifying.  I would recommend to anyone who likes this sort of movie. If you liked Jaws or want an adrenaline rush, this one definitely does the job. Amazing set, convincing cast and a perfect atmosphere created through simplicity. Its worth every minute of your time and maybe you’ll come out trying to catch your breath and calm your heart down after the credits roll (like I did) 😉

What shark predator movies do you like?