244. Black Water: Abyss; movie review

BLACK WATER: ABYSS
Cert 15
98 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language, threat

Crikey... just what the cinema didn't need as it was emerging from a four-month enforced closedown.
Yep, leading the way post-Covid, was a giant rubber crocodile which writhed around even less convincingly than the one which Johnny Weissmuller fought as Tarzan nearly 100 years ago.
One would have thought that special effects might have moved on a tad but they were so poor during Black Water: Abyss I wondered whether it was a comedy.
I came to the conclusion that if it appeared to be playing for laughs it was unintentional.
Andrew Traucki's film stars Jessica McNamee as one of a gang of friends who decide that they want to push their boundaries by exploring a deep cave in Australia.
This immediately sounded an alarm with me simply because the wildlife Down Under is not known to be the world's friendliest.
Therefore, the chances of being bumped off by a spider or snake while crawling through the darkness would have put me off long before a rubber croc would have had a chance to appear on the scene.
I digress.
McNamee's character, Jen, is persuaded by her boyfriend (Luke Mitchell) to go on the mini-expedition and they are joined by a cancer survivor (Benjamin Hoetjes), his girlfriend (Amali Golden) and another daredevil (Anthony J. Sharpe).
They find an underwater lake which looks spectacular until they realise the level is rising thanks to a storm and floods outside.
Oh, and guess what? There's a killer croc lurking in its depths.
So, the group have to find their way out of a cave filling with water as a hungry reptile licks its proverbial lips.
The plot is contrived, the dialogue is pedestrian and the special effects are lamentable.
If you have never seen a disaster movie before then this may be for you. Otherwise I cannot think of a reason for anyone to watch it.

Reasons to watch: Pretty tense
Reasons to avoid: Rubbery crocs and contrived plot

Laughs: None
Jumps: One
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 2.5/10

Did you know?  According to the CrocBite website, there have been ten fatal attacks in Australia since 2013. Historically, the average fatality rate has been about a death every two years. Australian saltwater crocodiles can grow to more than fifteen feet long.

The final word. Andrew Traucki: "Not only do I get to play with a crocodile, which is a top apex predator, which makes it pretty scary, it is also all set in the dark while the original was all set in the day. So yeah, there is nothing quite like the darkness to make the film scary. That, and them trapped in a cave with rising water, and that felt like a pretty scary scenario.” Phuket News

Share this post