In the late 1970s, Sweets Lookout Billabong in the Finniss River became the scene of numerous saltwater croc attacks. Most of the attacks were attributed to one male croc measuring over 16 feet long. The croc, dubbed Sweetheart thanks to the location, was finally caught in 1979 and died shortly thereafter. Now, I have a massive phobia when it comes to water. I'll drink it and I am happy as a clam in my tub or in a nice clean pool. Natural bodies of water, though, you can forget it! I guess that's why water movies are the only ones that REALLY freak me out these days.
Rogue, starring Radha Mitchell and Michael Vartan is about a group of tourists that take a crocodile tour in the Northern Territory of Australia. Of course the tourists are all enjoying the scenery until a giant croc comes out of nowhere and starts stalking them! John Jarratt also stars and is significantly less creepy this time. Another mentionable is Sam Worthington who you probably haven't heard of, but will soon.
The scenery in this film is absolutely breathtaking and the special features are very much worth the watch (especially the Northern Territories mini-doc which includes old documentary pieces about Sweetheart, who partially inspired this film - chilling but also fascinating).
I'll understand if you don't get as much of a kick out of this one as I did, but I was jumping out of my seat. The end leaves a little to be desired - I could have gone with a little more water stuff or maybe just a little more movie. At 90 minutes it did seem short. Other than that, I thought it was a great flick that wholeheartedly makes up for the train wreck that was Primeval (the movie with Orlando Jones, not the BBC tv show). Overall, a fun flick and a great creature feature. Greg Mclean also directed the film Wolf Creek which also takes its inspiration from actual events. That will have to be saved for another post, though.
