Black Water

Black Water is one of those fine survival animal horror films that is, as mentioned here, comparable to Rogue from the same year and country, and next to 1999's Lake Placid, it's the best film to feature a crocodile as the monster. The first half of the film was weaker and less action-packed, but thankfully the second half made up for these shortcomings, so I was happy with the final product within the confines of the genre. I prefer not to criticize the behaviour of the characters, because I don't know how I would have acted in this situation. All in all, a pretty good film that benefits especially from the realistic (real) crocodile and well chosen locations. (25/03/2014)

A pretty enjoyable and watchable little crocodile movie. It didn’t make me shiver in fear, but it did manage to make me feel some tension. It’s a pity that when the crocodile attacks or eats someone, we don’t get to see much. Also, in terms of screenplay, those 90 minutes are rather empty. I’m aware the film’s main focus is the psychology of the characters, but that could have been the background of something other than the template “for the boat and back”. What is certainly good are the beautiful settings and the credibility of the plot as a whole. (23/02/2008)

A minimalist survival horror film in which we spend most of the time staring tensely into the murky water, under the surface of which lurks a crocodile, stalking the main characters, who are stuck in a tree in the middle of a swamp. Andrew Traucki successfully builds his film on a constant sense of uncertainty about what lies beneath the surface, and whether the main characters can safely walk a few metres in the murky waters and turn the overturned boat around. The film is most remarkable, however, in that it features a real crocodile that has been co-opted into the footage with the actors. The moment when it first appears to the heroines is pleasantly shocking – instead of the expected CGI animation or animatronic puppet, a real crocodile jumps out of the water. The threat the heroines face feels very real and this makes Black Water perhaps the most authentic and satisfying crocodile horror film, though not the most entertaining (it would have been better suited to a medium-length film). A few years later, Traucki used a similar approach a little better in the shark horror The Reef. (15/11/2023)