Rougue's Rogue Third

Surprisingly, straight to DVD movies can have redeeming qualities. I'm not recommending that you start checking out every direct-to-DVD offering out there, because you'll end up with a whole bunch of wasted time. But every now and again, DVD offers us something that we should've seen in theaters a few months before. Dimension's "Extreme" label is giving us more good stuff than bad, and it's about time people started knowing about it.

When I say "us"...I mean "us [horror fans]". I realize that this will scare most people away, but a good movie is a good movie, and not all horror movies are of the Hostel variety. Last night I watched a Dimension Extreme DVD called Rogue. Rogue is about a killer "rogue" crocodile in the Northern Territory of Australia and some tourists who unwittingly stumble into its stomping grounds. The cast was good, with a favorite of mine, Radha Mitchell, headlining.

What surprised me the most about this movie was how gorgeously it was shot. I felt like I was watching a DVD travel brochure of the Northern Territory. The quality look of the film helps lend it credibility. I have a hard time giving credit to movies that are direct-to-DVD, but since last night I've had to reassess. The special effects in the movie, because after all it is a horror flick, are very decent. The good thing about the film is that the titular crocodilian is only seen in glimpses until the end. A page has obviously been taken out of Jaws' book, and it works to the film's advantage. There isn't a lot of blood or graphic killings, which surprised me, but the suspense is palpable and the speed with which the croc dispatches its victims brings some real uncertainty and realism to the whole ordeal. The acting is good too. I really felt that the characters' differing personalities gave a good example of the mixed bag of people you'd have on a tourists' outing.

From the opening credits the film seems to take-no-prisoners and have a gritty feel, showing us that amidst all the natural beauty of the Australian Outback, the closer you get, the more dangerous your surroundings can be. Yet towards the end the violence and attitude seem to abate. The croc becomes more visible during the stand off in its lair. As a result the croc effects become less scary and you can see the CGI hard at work. I don't want to give away much plot, but I found the survivors left at the end to be problematic for what was, up until the third act, a remorseless production.

All in all I happily give this film a good review because the atmosphere and visual quality were astounding and rich. The acting and the combination of visual and practical effects made the croc's stalking/killing realistic and something deserving of fear. Be sure to watch the documentaries on the disc for some great real-life context. Apparently the 25-foot crocodile in Rogue is not as large as some actual crocs that have been recently spotted in the wild...