THE REEF -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 7/9/11

 

Since I still haven't seen OPEN WATER--the film that this type of "predicament" movie is most logically compared to--I was going to liken THE REEF (2010) to another white-knuckle cinematic ordeal of a few years back called BLACK WATER.  Then I found out that THE REEF and BLACK WATER were directed by the same person, Andrew Traucki, which pretty much makes sense, I guess.

Since this type of movie puts innocent people into some kind of survival situation from which the only escape is either death or suffering through a terrible ordeal, it's meant more to be endured than enjoyed.  If done right, the result is prolonged, almost unbearable suspense that makes you sick to your stomach.  With BLACK WATER, Traucki proved himself quite adept at this sort of film, and THE REEF is another successful installment in his quest to make us all feel bad.

As usual, the main characters are a bunch of fairly nice people that we don't really want anything bad to happen to.  Damian Walshe-Howling plays Luke, an amiable young seafarer hired to deliver a yacht.  Turning the job into a pleasure cruise, he invites his old friend Matt (Gyton Grantley) and Matt's girlfriend Suzie (Adrienne Pickering) along for the ride, in addition to Matt's sister Kate (Zoe Naylor).  Kate happens to be Luke's old girlfriend so there's some unfinished romantic business between the two.  Rounding out the group is Luke's deck hand Warren (Kieran Darcy-Smith).
 


The first third or so of the film consists of them having a wonderful time sailing and romping around on a secluded island while we get to know them and wait for their false sense of security to be shattered.  This happens several miles out to sea when the yacht suddenly bashes into a reef and capsizes, leaving them stranded.  They now have two choices--wait on top of the overturned boat, which is slowly sinking, or try to swim back to the island.  Warren knows what's out there and refuses to budge.  The rest inch nervously into the water and paddle away, keeping their eyes peeled for things like, you know, sharks and stuff.

We don't even see one until the movie's almost half over, yet the suspense generated by this simple premise is almost paralyzing at times.  As I said about BLACK WATER, this is one of those movies where you (a) don't want anything to happen, and (b) don't want to start liking the characters because you know some of them are about to die horribly.  Of course, I did start liking the characters, and things did start to happen, mostly involving lots of blood and screaming.  Traucki is positively sadistic in the way he draws out the suspense as Luke and the gang catch fleeting glimpses of moving shapes (such as shark fins) and helplessly await the arrival of those gnashing jaws from below. 

The first attack relieves all that pent-up tension that's been building since the movie began, but it doesn't take long for us to start biting our nails again.  (I actually did catch myself literally biting my nails once or twice.)  Actual footage of a big-ass shark filmed off the Australian coast is well integrated and even the occasional SPFX shots are pretty good, while the actors do a fine job of reacting to it all exactly the way I would--with gibbering, bug-eyed terror.



The final segment of the film really stretches our nerves back and forth like a rubber band as the survivors spot what may be their salvation in the distance, only to find it frustratingly out of reach as the shark renews its attack.  And yes, the characters have been developed just enough to make us care about them, damn it, so in addition to stomach-souring suspense there's also the sadness that goes along with seeing some nice people turned into shark crunchies.  This continues right up until the last possible moment, leaving me nauseated and bummed out at the fadeout.  Since that's exactly what this movie sets out to do, then mission accomplished.

The DVD from Image Entertainment is in 2.35:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.  Subtitles are in English and Spanish.  Extras consist of a trailer and a making-of featurette, "Shooting with Sharks." 

Though the tagline "Who will survive--and what will be left of them?" is already taken, it would've been just right for THE REEF.  (And much better than the real one, "Pray that you drown first.")  While this low-budget production is technically well done, there's really not much more to it after the yacht wreck than four people paddling around out in the water amidst some shark footage and a few SPFX.  But what Andrew Traucki does with these simple ingredients adds up to an exhausting experience that's almost as much of an ordeal for the viewer as it is for the characters.  If that's your idea of fun, then dive right in.

THE REEF -- DVD Review by Porfle

GIRL IN WOODS -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 5/22/16

 

It looks like it's going to be one of those "predicament" stories like THE REEF or OPEN WATER, and more specifically like another go at Stephen King's "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" but with a grown-up girl lost in the woods this time instead of a little one.

But it isn't.  Hoo boy, is it not.

The aptly-titled GIRL IN WOODS (Candy Factory Films, 2016) is about Grace (Juliet Reeves, AUTOMATON TRANSFUSION, LAY THE FAVORITE), who probably doesn't even know who Tom Gordon is and wouldn't be out there in the first place if her boyfriend Jim (Reeves' real-life husband Jeremy London, MALLRATS, GODS AND GENERALS) hadn't invited her to his secluded cabin to pop the question.

The morning after their engagement Jim takes Grace on a hike deep into the woods and then, just when she's good and lost, manages to shoot himself in the head.  This puts Grace in an awkward position, one from which it will take the rest of the movie for her to extricate herself.  But does therein lie the entire plot?

Hardly.  GIRL IN WOODS is in no way your usual predicament thriller for one simple reason: Grace is a little nuts.  At first I thought there was something a tad "off" about Juliet Reeves' performance, because she was playing Grace in a strangely disaffected manner, as though the character weren't "all there." 

Then I gradually realized that Grace ISN'T all there. In fact, she's so far from "there" that in no time, the situation in which she finds herself quickly becomes a descent into one level of madness after another, with flashbacks from her troubled childhood (horrific images of Daddy committing suicide and boogeymen invading her bedroom at night) constantly assailing her along with a series of nightmarish hallucinations. 

This gives the story a whole new dimension beyond the usual survival theme, with Grace's ideas for survival proving not only unconventional but downright shocking. The story takes place not just in the woods but also largely in the dark depths of her warped mind, where the past keeps playing itself out in increasingly disturbing ways.

To make things worse, two distinct sides of her personality--the rational and the feral--begin to appear to her as separate entities (giving Reeves a chance to really prove her acting talent) and battle over whether or not she'll remain civilized or surrender to utter savagery. 

Writer-director Jeremy Benson keeps it all well-paced and scintillating enough to maintain our avid interest right up to the fadeout (stick around through the end credits for the newspaper headlines) with only a few slightly draggy spots here and there.  Mainly he does a fine job with a story that takes place in a forest and in the mind of a character who is usually alone on the screen.

Grace does get "visits" from a loving grandfather (John Still) who beckons her to join him (he's dead, by the way) and from her parents (Lee Perkins as "Dad" still sports his suicidal head shot).  The lovely Charisma Carpenter (THE EXPENDABLES, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") is memorable as "Momma", whom we come to feel may not have been the most healthy influence on little Grace (Shaun Benson). 

Will Grace survive, and if so, what will be left of her?  Things don't totally come together until near the end, when all the stuff we're not supposed to know yet starts falling into place.  Then the plot twists come one after another and mess with your expectations in all sorts of ways, and GIRL IN WOODS turns out to be one of those intensely involving movies that make your imagination feel like it just had a full-body massage.

GIRL IN WOODS -- Movie Review by Porfle

Survivorman's Les Stroud Falls Into First Trailer for "THE PIT" -- See It HERE!

Famed Survivalist Les Stroud Turns to Acting in 

"THE PIT"

Longterm Friends Pushed to Their Limits to Survive

Director Stacy Brown Jr Shares New Trailer and Stills
 
   
Los Angeles, CA -- Best Dudes Films has shared the first trailer and stills from writer/director Stacy Brown Jr's The Pit. 

Brown's debut feature follows a pair of longtime friends deep in the woods whose bond is sorely tested when survival is on the line.

WATCH THE TRAILER:

 
Les Stroud (Discovery Channel's "Survivorman") steps into the familiar character of Danny Coile, opposite Brown as Arron James.

While hiking in an isolated forest, survivalist Danny Coile and his old Army buddy Arron James become hopelessly trapped when they fall into a deep cenote with no way out.

Over the next 50 days, they transform from mild-mannered old friends into vicious, bloodthirsty animals willing to do whatever it takes to survive.

The Pit will premiere in 2020.

Survivorman's Les Stroud Falls Into First Trailer for "THE PIT" -- See It HERE!