Black Water (film)

Plot

While out on a fishing tour, Grace (Diana Glenn), her younger sister Lee (Maeve Dermody), and husband Adam (Andy Rodoreda), are convinced to go to a crocodile exhibit after learning how massive and aggressive the males get. Once they arrive at the docks, their tour guide, Jim (Ben Oxenbould), arms himself with a revolver and they set off. After failing to catch any fish on the usual route, Jim suggests going deeper into the swamps. Once they arrive at a small clearing, Lee spots something through her camera and alerts Grace, but later finds nothing.

Suddenly, the boat capsizes; dumping them into the water. Adam realizes a crocodile attacked them and helps Grace into a nearby tree. He then searches the water for Lee, who is tangled up in ropes underneath the boat. Grace sees a crocodile nearby and convinces Adam to come back. Lee frees herself, but the crocodile swims after her as she struggles to climb atop the boat. She manages to do so, but the beast thrashes the boat in an attempt to throw her off. Adam and Grace distract it, and it swims away. 

Realizing they can use the boat's ropes to pull her to safety, they attempt to execute this plan, only for the boat to get stuck. A hesitant Lee's forced to swim across, and despite panicking partway through, she makes it to her comrades. The girls suggest waiting for help, but Adam says no one saw them leave, so Grace tries climbing the trees all the way to the mainland. This doesn't work out for her, as she's forced to swim back. Along the way, she finds Jim's severed ear, but hides this from the others. An impatient Adam goes for the boat. He overturns it, but a crocodile grabs and kills him. The girls make numerous attempts to continue his plan, only to be thwarted at every turn by the croc.

The next day, they see the boat drifting away. Deciding it's a lost cause, they attempt to use the trees to get out of the clearing. Halfway across however, the crocodile attacks them. They make it back to their original tree, but Grace suffers a leg injury in the process. With Grace's condition worsening over time, Lee tries once again to reach the boat, but gets pulled underwater and knocked unconscious. She later finds herself on a small island alongside Jim's body. She patches herself up, takes his gun, and attempts to kill the croc; only for the gun to misfire. She flees, the beast close behind. It launches a sneak attack when she stops, and during the struggle, the gun finally works; killing it. The threat averted, Lee makes her way back to Grace, who has died from blood loss. She mourns her sister as she places her on the boat and paddles out of the mangrove.

Cast

Production

The location representing the vast mangroves system in northern Australia was actually in the directors' home town of Sydney, 25 minutes from the Central business district In a small suburb called Oatley. They also spent a week in Darwin shooting footage of real saltwater crocodiles that were transplanted into the location along with the actors, with the directing team doing their own CG special effects to achieve this.

Release

Other festivals:

Reception

Black Water was well-received by critics, holding a 79% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 19 reviews, with an average score of 5.93/10. The film was commended for its minimal use of CGI, which is often prevalent in similar movies, as well as its engaging plot and suspenseful atmosphere. Neil Smith of Total Film Magazine highlighted the film's finale, noting it as a refreshing departure from typical genre conventions.

Box office

Black Water earned $98,901 in Australia and $637,959 worldwide.

References