Rogue (2007)
A group of tourists take a Australian boat trip through crocodile-infested waters only to be attacked by a massive one and cornered on to an island waiting to be overcome by the rising river tide. Written and directed by WOLF CREEK's Greg McLean, this croc shlock is surprisingly a bit unique. McLean goes the anti-Eli Roth route, creating a lengthy opening stage with characters we actually care about before the horrors start to spread. There are a lot of early haunting shots of the Australian wilderness and how minuscule these humans are in this part of the world. Even when the swimming villain comes in, the violence is largely bloodless, making for more suspense-laden, terrorizing sequences. Of course, since this is basically Aussie JAWS, the characters do eventually fall into the usual tropes, sabotaging their own schemes for selfish gain. Once we hit the third act, there's a bit more gore and sadly some bad CGI workmanship. Overall, I was genuinely shocked by this film's ingenuity. Nonetheless, in terms of Aussie JAWS movies, I would probably rather pick RAZORBACK.
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
Bay of Blood (1971)
a.k.a. TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE. A rich old lady is bumped off by her scheming husband, only for him to then be stabbed and thrown into a bay by someone else. This is just the start of a series of people roaming all over the bay and competing in a violent battle royale for the woman's inheritance. This Mario Bava film ended up being one of his most influential works, going beyond his giallo trendsetting ways with BLOOD AND BLACK LACE and crafting the standard formula for the slasher genre. Fornicating men and women are gruesomely killed off (in murder scenes that were later "homaged" by the FRIDAY THE 13TH series), the killer POV, and endless walking and stalking in a forest all came from this little movie. The gory demises are plentiful and are deliciously sadistic, with impalings, beheadings, and chokings being all of the rage. However, the film itself is pretty flimsy. Literally everyone is unlikable and even with their expected deaths, it is hard to sit through all of their smug conversations. Bava is well known for his great cinematography but here he overdoses on quick, unnecessary zooms and camera dissolves. You can enjoy the sit through all of the bodily destruction but it's painful to tolerate all of the numbskulls. Also, you'll never guess the ending.
FINAL REVIEW: 2 / 5
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