MY REVIEW OF IT

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ROGUE(2007)
(Directed by Greg Mclean)

Plot: A group of tourists in the Australian outback get stranded on a small island, with the tide threatening to devour them….not to mention a giant crocodile wants to devour them too..


Review:
Remember when “The Cave” came out a few years ago, and it was just average? Then “The Descent” came out and had basically the same plot and setting, and basically was what “The Cave” should’ve been. It was scary, atmospheric and had some intelligence with it. This is basically the same story. A movie called “Primevil” came out and disappointed us. I was alright with the movie, but It felt it should’ve been better. It failed, so they released “Rogue”(a very similar movie) straight to DVD. What the hell? Wrong order jackasses!

Props to the creators for making the only alligator/crocodile movie that isn’t cheesy as hell. It’s played in a very realistic manner. It’s basically a story about what would happen if a crocodile preyed on some tourists. While I’m on this, allow me to address a criticism. Not as many people die as we would want. I took this as adding to the realism. Not everyone who you think will die actually dies, and vice versa. In real life, anyone can die in a situation like this. Hell, there is even a lot of information about crocodiles! See! Movies can be learning experiences as well!

Director Gred McLean brought us a movie called “Wolf Creek” in 2005, and we were all left to wonder if we had just watched a good or bad movie. I’m more inclined to say bad in terms of structure, plot and just being way too redundant. However, his visual panache and ability to bring out suspense appealed to us, making the film uneven. With this, I think he’s cemented himself as a possible hero of a horror genre. Besides milking the beautiful, yet humid cinematography for all it’s worth, he does great with the atmosphere. Most films that are claustrophobic generally are shot in a small room, with the camera shooting at a low angle. The rest is up to the actor who has to convey the right emotions. “Rogue” does that, except in a completely inverted way. There are plenty of aerial shots, which show us the never-ending surroundings. It doesn’t look claustrophobic, but the message is clear, the jungle is their prison. He has a strong grasp on suspense and I liked how he leaves a lot for the audience to figure out(someone vanishes, what do you think happened to them?). The finale was an intense nail-biter, cementing this as a film that genuinely manages to be scary. The sets are simply awesome! The cave was sooo on the money.

What about the crocodile? Well, it’s good enough. It never looks completely real, but it also never really looks fake. For the most part, you don’t see it(like the shark in “Jaws”). But eventually you get to see it in all it’s glory, and you’re impressed that it doesn’t ever really look ridiculous. The characters feel a bit faker than the crocodile. They’re archetypes that are injected with realism by the actors playing them. Enough characterization is given so that we like the guys, which I guess is enough.

My biggest complaint is I felt a little bit more screen time should’ve been given to the characters. None of them are really developed. As this is meant to be realistic, this makes sense. In a situation like this, there won’t be really any development or back stories going on. But as a movie, it’s a drawback. A horror movie with some depth is better than a horror movie with no depth. I really hope the director figures this out, because it’s his biggest drawback. There is also a grating copout near the end, which felt like a studio interference. Besides not fitting, it completely contradicts what was said about the crocodiles feeding process.

Radha Mitchell(Kate) was very believable and likable as the tough leader. She is a great actress and I hope she continues to do some quality horror flicks. Michael Vartan(Pete) quickly becomes adaptable as the hero. Oddly, he’s surprisingly cool considering he plays a somewhat snobbish role. No one else is really developed enough to get a mention, but let me say that everyone does great, no exception.

Violence: While not as gory as we would like, it’s still fairly graphic. Mostly aftermath stuff.

Nudity: One guy moons the tourists at one point, but I couldn’t tell if he was wearing his boxers or not. I don’t think so….

Overall: “Rogue” has a generic title and felt like the script needed more depth, but I personally thought it was a surprisingly frightening and mature horror flick that shows that Greg Mclean might be the future for horror.

3.5/4 Stars


my reviews of martial arts and horror films
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