Rogue (DVD)

You’d have thought that after the success of Wolf Creek, whatever director Greg McClean made next would have been snapped up and released in cinemas pretty much immediately, but it’s taken nearly two years for Rogue to get to the UK, and even now it’s coming straight to DVD. The reason is probably that while Wolf Creek felt fresh, gritty and unusual, Rogue is far more generic, although it’s not a bad movie.

A group of tourists are in Australia’s Northern Territory and decide to go on a wildlife boat trip to see the crocs and other creatures that live there. Travelling up the river they run into two unpleasant rednecks, but that’s turns out to be the least of their problems, as their boat soon gets attacked by an unseen creature and starts to sink.

Stranded on a sandbar with the light fading and the tide about to come in, the tourists and their guide (Radha Mitchell) realise they need to find a way to get back to civilisation. This is something that’s easier said than done when the water all around them is inhabited by a seven-metre long saltwater crocodile that’s determined to attack and kill everything in its territory.

Rogue comes up against the problem a lot of these sorts of films do, where a small groups of random people are up against some sort of creature/monster, which is that while it’s great when the croc is attacking, the bits in-between aren’t so interesting. It’s difficult to care about any of the characters, as they all seem so lightly drawn. The excellent ‘making of..’ documentary talks about who these people are meant to be, but it doesn’t particularly come across in the film, as they just seem like a lot of generic people going through the requisite how-are-going-to-survive-this motions. It’s all okay, but much of the time it just feels like it’s marking time between croc attacks.

However when the seven-metre long reptile does show up, the film certainly cranks up a gear, as these are expertly executed, gradually revealing more of the mammoth monster, until it’s a battle between Alias star Michael Vartan and the enormous creature. These bits are great, and ensure the movie is worth a look for b-movie fans, even if the bits in-between are relatively dull. It’s also worth noting that the movie includes a role for Sam Worthington, before he went on to star in Terminator: Salvation and Avatar.

As mentioned, the DVD includes an excellent 45-minute making of documentary, which takes a fascinating look at the making of the movie, including how they went about capturing the beautiful scenery of the Northern Territory (and the film does make it look like a wonderful place, despite the killer croc). There’s also an audio commentary and a couple more featurettes, including ones that lauds the fact the film isn’t as far-fetched as you might expect, and a seven-metre croc that attacks anything in its territory certainly isn’t beyond the realms of possibility.

It all ensures this is a b-movie that’s worth a look for genre fans, even if it can can’t overcomes the flaw of many creature features, which is that they aren’t very interesting when the  monster isn’t on the screen.

Overall Verdict: Although Rogue is by no means as tense as Wolf Creek, it’s an okay creature feature that makes up for its relatively boring characters with some exciting croc attacks.

Special Features:
Audio Commentary With Director Greg McClean
‘The Making Of Rogue’ Documentary
‘The Real Rogue’ Featurette
‘Welcome To The Territory’ Featurettes

Reviewer: Tim Isaac