The 2010 Australian film “The Reef” is a shark related drama, horror, thriller genre movie that has recently come out on DVD. At first impression, we thought this was just another low-budget Jaws re-make, following a string of shark survival, lost at sea movies; however The Reef actually manages to catch our attention and even impresses us to a great extent.
The plot of the movie is very straightforward and somewhat simple: A group of five set sail on a yacht in Queensland Australia, the group comprising of Matt and his girlfriend Suzie, Matt’s sister Kate, Luke and Warren. On-route their yacht hits an underwater shallow reef, which rips the hull and capsizes the boat. Luke, a seasoned sailor, suggests that the group make a swim for the nearest island (Turtle Island) as the yacht was slowly sinking and drifting away with the current. Four of the group, with the exception of Warren who decides to remain with the yacht, don their wetsuits and grab what little equipment they can salvage from the capsized yacht and set off into the open sea to try to make it to land. The group swim through shark infested waters and are stalked by a Great White along the way.
What makes the movie grab our attention is the great build-ups and portrayal of the human psyche when faced with a survival situation and helplessness. The movie is full of peaks and valleys with the tension building up, rising and falling throughout the film. The dialogue is minimal, there is no Jaws soundtrack playing in the background, and you mostly hear just the waves and the splashing of the survivors as they swim towards safety. The shark footage (of a real Great White shark) is well captured and the portrayals of the attacks are more realistic than many other movies. Overall the actors did a fine job of portraying the fear and helplessness and giving us believable performances.
The Reef is a good blending of movies like “Jaws” and “Open Water” where there are elements of survival in the open seas combined with the stalking of the survivors by sharks. The movie, while unlikely to win any Oscars and has a few inconsistencies, is definitely worth your time, will have you rooting for the characters and will actually have you biting your nails at times.
While we normally don’t like movies of this genre that scare people from entering the ocean and promote a fear of sharks, The Reef is a highly recommended watch, and its great underwater footage, combined with great portrayals of panic, terror and helplessness will leave you highly entertained.
Additional Details:
Cast:
- Adrienne Pickering as Suzie
- Zoe Naylor as Kate
- Damian Walshe-Howling as Luke
- Gyton Grantley as Matt
- Kieran Darcy-Smith as Warren
- director = Andrew Traucki | producer = Michael Robertson
