Top-Tier "Nasty Critter" Movie (SPOILERS)
This wasn't arthouse cinema or one of the finest stories committed to celluloid, but this genre of film (monster hunts down people one-by-one) isn't supposed to plumb the depths of the human condition; it's supposed to be fun and suspenseful. Rogue is 100% in delivering on that premise.
It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's not trying to. What it does, though, it does really well. The characters didn't feel like cardboard cutouts. No character was stereotyped too much as is often the case with these groups. It feels like the filmmakers weren't just creating puppets that could be killed off quickly until we got to the final survivor people. Different characters had moments of strength, weakness, foolishness, and bravery. Pete wasn't just the brassy hero, he was often terrified and demanding. Kate wasn't just a badass outback chick, she had real vulnerability and got stressed out. Neil wasn't just a jerk with a heart of gold he was... well...
Neil's role was used really well. The setup made it seem like he'd be one of the last of the group hanging on. He'd either be the jerk who slowly accepts responsibility and wins Kate's heart back OR he'd be the super-competent past lover who Pete has to beat in romancing Kate. Neither. Neil gets chomped well before I thought he could have been. Not only was this surprising, it made me really on edge for who else they'd be okay with killing. Neil can die? Shoot, that means anybody can die. The other side of this coin is that the film didn't feel the need to kill off everybody. There's more than just one or two survivors. Some horror movies like this seem to just kill people because they're "supposed" to die. Not here.
The biggest negative is just that the movie doesn't ever try to rise to something more interesting than just a standard-issue plot for this genre. Maybe that's not fair - asking it to be what it's not - but the rest of the writing is sharp enough that I felt the filmmakers could have gone somewhere more interesting - saying something about mankind and nature (especially with a travel writer as a character). This doesn't drag the movie down, it just feels like they could have gone even deeper.