Solitaire

I saw Rogue this morning at a preview screening in Melbourne, I've been looking forward to this film for some time. I don't want to say that it was a disappointment as it is a solid effort. There is nothing that stands out as something I think should have been done differently.

Some wandering British and American accents from the mostly Australian cast can be forgiven.

The obvious difference between the locations in the Northern Territory and those in Victoria caused a brief chuckle (mainly because director Greg McLean introduced the film and commented that he hoped the transition would be seamless), though this may go unnoticed by foreign (non-Australian) audiences.

Visual effects were highly competent, I doubt that the average cinema-goer will pick the matte paintings or have an issues with the CG croc.

The main issue I have is that the film lacks the suspense and excitement of a truly great monster/horror film. Due to the nature of the material this will have to be compared to Jaws and Rogue will inevitably suffer. A fairer comparison has to be Lake Placid, and in that scenario Rogue also comes off second best. Rogue lacks the suspense and the humour of the American monster Croc effort.

This follow up to Wolf Creek was written long before the surprise Aussie hit, Rogue has the hallmarks of a first feature script, hitting all of the genre conventions without ever attaining any moments of originality.

If you enjoy this kind of monster movie (and I do) you'll find it a decent way to spend a couple of hours, you won't be missing much if you see it on DVD. Apart from Radha Mitchell looking great in khaki shorts, and believably playing a 28 yr old, though she has to be at least 35.

Nice job over all, good job, not great but good.

Granted, it's not perfect, and the idea is not 100% original (from a cinematic point of view) but one thing I love about Greg McLean's films is that he takes what are essentially Australian icons and flips them totally askew. For instance in Wolf Creek the films brutal killer - Mick Taylor is basically Mick Dundee turned psycho. And in Rogue, he yet again takes a well known Australian reptile and sets it loose on some unsuspecting tourists.

There's no denying McLean can shoot a beautiful movie, and some of the wonderful scenes of the Australian top-end are simply stunning. The characters all portray strong performances, especially when the pressure sets in and they begin to crack. McLean also does a good job at drip feeding the dread and teasing the audience with nothing but growls, grunts and slippery tails. It's an age old formula where directors don't show the full extent of the threat till the end - well, thankfully we don't have to wait that long, as when the croc does reveal itself - we see that it is frickin'MASSIVE! And what's even more scary is that these thing's actually exist up there.

The croc itself is naturally CGI with some animatronics, and it's a relief to see that it looks "real". The movement and animation is authentic and the sound design is also effective in giving the audience that jolted feeling a 3 tonne croc would give.

It's a tense, taught and well directed film, and the only gripe I have about it is that it seems a little short - maybe that was put down the fact that I was so immersed into the film? But it did feel a little short. It also lacked the brutal punch Wolf Creek gave us back in 2005, but never the less, it's a cute little Aussie horror thriller where McLean pays sound homage to classics like Jaws and Aliens. And it's also good to see more "genre" films like this coming out of Australia, and it's also good to know people like the Weinsteins and Warner Brothers are backing horror films from Australia for international releases and distribution.

For anyone into their Reptillian chills and thrills - I highly recommend ROGUE.

To begin with, wolf creek was a solid horror film, certainly not mainstream, quite a challenge to watch, rather sordid and macabre, pretty much unwatchable, though i admired it's stylish look, and its daring. Rogue has the same sort of appeal, though it is far more accessible, the suspense is brilliant, keeping the crock hidden for most of the show, this makes the film hugely successful, but little glimpses, a tail, a missing tourist, who was there only a second ago, really makes the film one that makes you laugh that giddy fear laugh we all know. This film had my nerves in a stitch and it was all brought together by a heart pounding finale. Another thing that really proved affective was the films realism, the crock looked very real, was of plausible size, but most definitely wasn't small. if you love the old school suspense tricks of Alien (i stress this film is not in the same league) then this is definitely a good night at the movies.

Recommendation: nothing can really prepare you

Greg McLean is looking to be someone to watch out for. After scaring audiences witless with his Aussie outback shocker "Wolf Creek" and hurting the Australian Tourism Board immensely his back at it again. However, this time he replaces a serial killer with a 7 metre saltwater crocodile who's hungry for humans and luckily a boat full of them arrives at his doorstep.

McLean doesn't waste time with a huge story, it is very basic and to the point. Pete McKell is an American travel writer who travels the world and writes about the places he visits. He is sent to the Northern Territory to go on a river cruise which is lead by Kate Ryan (Radha Mitchell). On board there are plenty of other tourists waiting to become bait.

The movie starts off with some beautiful scenes of Australian outback, they are absolutely stunning. When the action starts, though, it never lets up. For the rest of the movie I was on the edge of my seat, McLean really knows how to racket up the tension. It helps that the river is murky and we don't see too much of our monster until the end. And when we do see our crocodile friend it is amazing. Part CG and part animatronics, the crocodile looks very good and very menacing.

The acting is good all round, although the characters aren't hugely deep, the actors do a good job of making us love them or hate them. Particularly good is John Jarret (of Wolf Creek fame) and Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill).

For those that like blood and gore you won't be too disappointed, there is some and it's nice and bloody when it comes.

3½/5

Before i saw this movie i said to myself probably it will be like any other crocks movie which most of them were pretty obvious and not really suspenseful and the acting were mostly bad . In most of them the crock didn't look real and the size was not realistic enough. In this movie it looked really fine and they did a good job to show the crock only when it was the right time and by that they made it more realistic and interesting.This movie caught me by surprise, it was a quite suspenseful movie with good build up and acting and the end was quite good. I recommend to watch it, i'm sure you will enjoy. I'm giving this movie 8 out of 10.