Black Water

      A true tale of 3 people vacationing in Northern Australia who decide to take the Blackwater Barry Tour to fish.  They encounter and are attacked by a huge crocodile.  Ending up stranded in the swamps and tree-bound, they try to find their way out of their secluded location.

      As silly as it may sound, I was pleasantly surprised with "Black Water".  I know what you're thinking.  A killer crocodile?  Seriously?  I thought the same thing.  But I took a chance... and was so glad I watched it.    For such a low budget indie production, the effects are some of the better I've seen in a while.  Almost all of the crocodile footage is of actual crocodiles and makes it much more believable.  And being low budget, the director takes full advantage of the situation- I for one find dark, swampy water the stuff of nightmares- who knows what's swimming around down there?  Much like "JAWS", this movie draws on those same kind of fears.  I found myself biting my nails immediately, completely immersed in this movie.  The characters weren't the least bit obnoxious or unlikable, and in all actuality this scenario is not that farfetched.  This could honestly happen, and it wouldn't be pretty if it did.  It's a simple and brutal tale, building slow suspense all the way.  This movie does not follow any kind of formula, and I always welcome that.  I'm always up for a good monster movie anyway, and this one was way better than any killer croc movie I've seen before... as a matter of fact,  have I ever seen a killer croc movie before?  I don't think so...

     With such a simple story, they've managed to create some real nail-biting suspense and tension, especially the night scenes.  Just about everything in "Black Water" works.  This is real edge-of-your-seat stuff- yet I only know of two other people that have seen it, much less heard of it.  Let's face it- most horror movies suck.  I still watch them, but a true good horror movie only comes along once in a while.  This quiet, un-assuming little chiller will probably never have a huge audience, and it's kinda sad.  It's one of the best creature features I've seen in a long time, but unfortunately more people will go see the latest  Michael Bay remake instead.  Oh well, thanks to Netflix I discovered this gem, and I highly recommend it.