Rogue: Review By skywise

Apr 24th, 2011 by skywise
Greg McLean has created a wonderful genre piece that capturs the majesty and danger of the Australian Outback while crafting an excellent genre piece that is tense and brutal while being fun and action packed.
  • OVERALL
    3.5
    GREAT
  • Story
  • Acting
  • Directing
  • Visuals
Rogue (2007)

Rating: R

Director: Greg McLean

Writer: Greg McLean

Producer: Greg McClean

Starring: Michael Vartan, Rhada Mitchell, and Sam Worthington

Tagline: How fast can you swim?

The pressure of a crocodile's bite is up to 5,000 pounds per square inch making it the strongest bite of any animal. These animals are known to reach 15 feet regularly and some have been said to be as long as 25 feet. The largest of these beasts are the salt water crocks found in Northern Australia and this is exactly what American travel writer, Pete McKell (Michael Vartan) encounters on a boat tour through an outback river guided by Kate Ryan (the always lovely Rhada Mitchell). Eventually stranded on a small island in a tidal river, the small shoreline is slowly disappearing and time is running out. Neil Kelly (Sam Worthington) becomes stranded on the island as well as a small group of sight seers while being systematically hunted by a large territorial crocodile.

Greg McLean has created a wonderful genre piece that is leaps and bounds above its peers. He has written a wonderful cast of characters who are all unique and memorable. He allows the film to start slowly giving the audience a chance to meet each character so when they are devoured by the hungry beast you actually care about their situation and this is something that is missing in so many genre pieces and even more so in the killer crock sub genre and giant beast movie in general. However the crocodile in this film, while extremely large is not completely unrealistic as there have been crocodiles' that have been spotted that are very near in size. McLean ratchets up the tension by using the tidal river and its rising levels as a way to create a sense of urgency which ultimately begins to drain those that are stranded and create cracks in the group which adds another layer of stress. Furthermore, Greg McLean is a master of cinematography and while he prefers to use handheld cameras he does not resort to the intense shaky cam that so many find preferable in today's action movies. His establishing shots are moody and breathtaking at the same time. I have never encountered a director who understands and creates shots of the outback more astonishing than Greg McLean.

The music is somewhat generic but effective all the same in creating that sense of tension that is so important in these types of genre films while the sound effects and visuals are realistic and compelling. McLean smartly shows us very little of the monster, instead waiting for the massive reveals late in the film. This technique is by far superior when dealing with this type of film and harkens back to Steven Spielberg's classic Jaws. Little glimpses, a tail, a splash of water or a missing tourist who was there only moments before create a tense atmosphere that makes one giddy with anticipation.

The film is not perfect and as is so common with these types of films, realism is thrown out the window very early on. Some of the characters act in the typical genre manner that makes you want to yell at the screen shouting, "What are you doing?" Very similar to the typical murder victim running up the stairs and hiding when they should be finding the nearest exit. However, the nearest exit is across a short breadth of water that is inhabited by our killer croc. The finale is also a bit fantastical but that is the nature of this type of film.

Rogue is Greg McLean's homage to not only the killer crock sub genre but also to his Australian home which he obviously loves so much. He understands that in this situation, even if you escape the monster you still have to deal with the treacherous surroundings. This is a fine entry into this category and by far the best that I have seen in quite some time. This is Greg McLean's second film, his first being Wolf Creek and while that was a very intriguing film it is hard to sit through as it is remarkably macabre and sometimes hard to watch. With Rogue he has honed his skill and created a brutal yet entertaining genre piece. Inspired by a true story (as was Wolf Creek) of a boat that was attacked by a large Crocodile in the 1970's, this film may not be for everyone but if you have any interest in the man eating beast sub genre they don't get much better than this.

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Comments (36)

  1. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @skywise dude i wish i coulda played that role plaything thing!!! anyways, my internet is spazzing anyways, so goodnight

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  2. skywise

    @crypt I am gonna get some sleep. Talk to ya later.

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  3. skywise

    @crypt Oh ya, I definatly will just because the original was so....original. And also, even though 3 is getting medicore to bad reviews...that is sometimes a good thing because it piques peoples curiosity...like me.

    Sometimes i watch movies that get terrible rating intentionaly just to see what the big deal is.

    ooh and I cant remember what thread you posted it in but I wanted to mention that I am an Evil Dead guy through and through. I would say those films were very influential to me as a teenager.

    This is super geeky but i even created a role playing game my friends and I would play based off the series.

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  4. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @skywise Oh wow, so they have an idea for a 5 already? They seem to be working ahead a lot. But I think 3 and 4 will make bank. I know I will contribute to their success by renting it or watching it somehow.

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  5. skywise

    @crypt I think that 3 has done enough business to warent the continuation of the 4th and if I am not mistaken it was already into production when 3 was released. I read that they have an idea for 5 but they are waiting to see how the combined efforts of the latest installments do before commiting.

    The article I read said that alhtough they have an idea for 5 they are not sure if they want to do it any time soon. It sounded like they were ready to move on to some new material.

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  6. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @skywise Ah, yeah I think we'll need to see it for ourselves. If it sucks i wonder if they'd stop production of the other one theyre planning on making, Apocalypse.

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  7. skywise

    @crypt I have heard so many differing views on the "comedy" in REC 3. I dont know what to think. I want to watch for myself to make up my own mind. Most people agree that its not a BAD movie but when held against the first 2 it just doesnt compare.

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  8. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @skywise Man, I wanna see Rec 3 so bad, but it sadly looks bad as well. Trying to make it humorous are they? Thats not gonna work.

    However, I LOVE Rec 1 & 2. I think I might like Rec 2 even better, honestly. more scares.

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  9. skywise

    @bawnian-dexeus heheh ya chomp chomp!

    very clever indeed!

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  10. Bawnian©-Dexeus

    @skywise You mean, chomp chomp?

    9 months agoby @bawnian-dexeusFlag

  11. skywise

    @crypt I thought REC was one of the most original movies of that nature if not the most original I have ever seen. I love it. REC 2 while not quite as good is pretty fantastic as well. I havnt seen 3 yet but I read that about 15 mins into it the POV camera breaks and it switched to a normal style movie (albiet with horrid reviews). I think that is an interesting way to make the tranistion from POV to traditional.

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  12. skywise

    @bawnian-dexeus which movie do you mean? Rogue? you watched it and havnt reviewed it??? chop chop sir!

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  13. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @skywise Oh, wow. I do not have On Demand at the moment, of course when I get it back it'll be gone with my luck.... Anyways, I can go either way with POV footage films. Its just a ca$h cow for now, and will fade away in a few years. But while it is here, I'll enjoy Paranormal Activity, Rec, and a few others.

    ABCs is gonna be amazing. not sure how much research you put into it, but it appaears as though the whole film was actually a competition. Filmmakers would send in a short film. There were several competitors for each letter of the alphabet. and only one for each letter won. well that is my understanding. other awesome directors are in there as well, which is the main attraction.

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  14. Bawnian©-Dexeus

    Been neglecting to review this movie for a while

    9 months agoby @bawnian-dexeusFlag

  15. skywise

    @crypt I would definatly say go into VHs with a certain ammount of....shall I say...low expectations. As you know, it is all done thru the POV found footage subgenre which I am not to fond of (but can go either way). The production values are very low but it is the writing that shines thru in the end for me. I was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did.

    As for the ABC's, Yes I had just read an nterview with West and he was talking about the anthology horror sub genre.

    VHS is now on Demand. It might still be in select theaters but it was never going to get a wide release. Pretty sure it is not on netflix though.

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  16. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @skywise Ah, I think I'll Skip The Reef for sure. Innkeepers was great, for sure. Loved the build up. but right when they get to the basement, it kinda went downhill, sadly. I was pretty saddened by it.

    Im so pumped for VHS dude. is it select theatres? or everywhere?

    Ti West has a short in the new anthology horror The ABC's of Death, in case you didnt hear.

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  17. skywise

    @crypt If you had to look away at open water then your eyes would be closed for most of The Reef. Its a far superior movie in my mind but the shark scenes are done so well, so much tension.

    Its not a particularly brutal film but it walks that line of realism that can be rather disturbing.

    I loved Inn Keepers but the last few mnutes were kind of a let down. It was a fnatastic movie but i agree, the ending could have been better. But it is a simple movie like House of the Devil - not as good - but simple.

    Ti West has a way with timing and pacing that wratchets up the tension in a way so many genre directors just dont get.

    His section of VHS is completly different. Its slow but the way it plays out (and i know we discussed this before) just really stuck in my mind. For me it was by far the most disturbing of the shorts in that anthology.

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  18. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @skywise Ah wow, yeah that'd creep me out too. But yeah, I do realize most sharks dont want to eat humans. I suppose its more the way they look, honestly i am mostly afraid of great whites. i can deal with little sharks, and most others. but in Open Water, i did look away once or twice, even though they were not scary sharks. I was happy Open Water 2 had no sharks whatsoever.

    Ti West's House of the Devil... Man,, it is so simple, yet so effective. much like Wolf Creek. but i love how he builds up to the end. Granted, The Innkeeper's ending really blew. in my opinion at least.

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  19. skywise

    @crypt Its completly understandable. one time I took a little helicopter ride over galvaston island and when I looked into the water there were hundreds of dark shapes near the beach. i asked the pilot what they are and he said very nonchalanty, "Oh those are sharks."

    i thought we should tell someone but he told me something I will never forget. he said; those sharks are ALWAYS there. You have to remember that when you go into the ocean you are in their world. There is nothing youcan do about it.

    Of course most of those were not man eating and even if they were they generaly are not interested in humans (its mostly surfers who get bit because apperantly they look like seals to sharks from below).

    That freaked me out.

    I agree about Ti West, the man has a great future in horror and I hope he continues to get the movies he wants made. Very few horror movies actually creep me out these days but Ti West is one of the ones that has me checking under my bed so-to-speak.

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  20. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @skywise Yep, Wolf Creek has a way of staying with you for sure. I saw it a while ago, but I remember it as if I saw it a day ago.

    Ti West.. Man i envy him so greatly. I make little films in my class, and i even get a loot of inspiration from his films.

    as for sharks, well see, you have a good reason. I do not. I just for some reason am insane scared of the water and just things in the water in general. Mostly sharks, but i do not like to even go near fish in water, its weird an unexplainable. the last time i got in a pool was last summer, i think, and that was because my ex girlfriend wanted to. Now i have no reason to anymore, anyways.

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  21. skywise

    @crypt I have to admit that I am deathyly affraid of shark myself. I had an...incedent when i was younger..thats all I am going to say about it but needless to say it scarred me for life. I wont even step into the ocean. Well I did manage to get up to my knees last summer with my GF's patient help. The fact that the movie is a true story and done in a way that is fairly realistic doesnt help.

    I hate sharks but I enjoy GOOd shark movies because i get to watch it all from the safety of my couch.

    Yes it was me who you were discussing Ti West with. You convinced me to get House of the Devil which is an awesome film. Ti West has a way with timing that is brilliant and timing is EVERYTHING in ghost movies.

    McLean is underated as well but I understand why Wolf Creek was so devisive. It is quite Macabre and because we get to know the character so well, at times its hard to watch. That is a movie that sat in the pit of my stomach long after the credits rolled.

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  22. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @skywise Wolf Creek is definitely the way to execute a horror film. I loved how not much was happening, and yet I was so entertained. Greg McLean is definitely a talented filmmaker, and highly underrated. Same with Ti West, which I think you were the one I spoke of about him. Anyhow, yes, horror was definitely done correctly in Wolf Creek, cause it makes it all the more horrifying when the horror happens if it is built up. Like A Serbian Film. Its dubbed most horrifying film of all time, which it is. But is the first hour horrifying? Eh, its got nothing compared to the last 40 minutes, but its fairly tame. That's because the writing was brilliantly executed, because you really care about the family.

    I recently bought ATM, i thought it was not bad. The Reef is going to be a no for me, because I am deathly afraid of sharks. not sure why, but sharks are the things that really get me. I ca watch horror movies with the lights off, but not a shark movie with even the lights on.

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  23. skywise

    @crypt Wolf creek really won me over by being basically a road trip movie for half the film which allowed us to get to know the characters that much more so there deaths and plight were much more weighty than so many moves that just introduce characters,line them up and knock em down. I fell that makes such a huge difference in horror. that and the acting. If I am not convinced that the characters are really frightened then it takes away fom the overall effect. I believe that filming a GOOd horror movie is among the hardest things to do for that very reason. Character development and acting.

    I will definatly do that review since I know at least you are interested. I have been meanng to do it. i sort of have a love affair with Aussie films ATM (there is a lot of good stuff coming out from there lately). One of the best shark movies of late, The Reef was from Australia which makes sense since it is believed that the Great White breeds off the sSouthern Coast of Aus.

    I agree, Lake Placid was terrible. I mean it had good FX for its time but it just didnt have the weight that Rogue or even Primeval had.

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  24. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @skywise Yes, Jarret played the simple "I'll give you a ride, and be nice but gonna kill you tomorrow" role so well, it make it original. I'd have to say that while Wolf Creek is amazing, it cannot be one of my favorites. there are just so many... I'd have to thinkon that one though. Anyways, Ive never heard of The Loved Ones, I'll expect you to do a review! haha

    Yeah, Primeval was alright, Rogue was 10x better. The Lake Placid's are a f*cking joke.

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  25. skywise

    @crypt Sooo glad Jarret is returning. What a brilliant performace. One of my favs of all time in horror. Just so different and unique. I think I will do that review tomorrow. I been meaning to put up The Loved Ones which is another great Australian horror/black comedy.

    I did see Primeval and I thought it was pretty good. It held my interest but just was not as tense as Rogue. That whole shrikning island bit was fantastic.

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  26. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @skywise Yeah, same here. I don't have a ton of friends to mass tag anyways, under this account I'm fairly new here. A lot of my old buddies have left for seemingly no return, so I don't get my usual friends' comments anymore.

    But anyways, yes, the sequel is by Greg McLean, and Josh Jarret (Um i think that's the bad guy's name) is returning!!!

    Did you see Primeval? It's not as good as this, but a decent croc film.

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  27. skywise

    @crypt Hey thanks man. Not to many people around here seem to be fans of McLean or Australian movies in general. I loved Wolf Crek and will be doing a review o that one soon. Its one of my favorite horror movies and I would say that in that film the outback playes an even more important role. I did not know they were making a sequel but if the same team is behind it and the same actor then I am stoked. Thanks again for reading. I dont do as many reviews as I would like and I dont mass tag so its always very peasent to get a comment.

    9 months agoby @skywiseFlag

  28. The Cryptkeeper: Resurrected

    @skywise I agree 100%! This movie was great, and it is obvious, as you state, that Greg seems to like the outback, with his other awesome movie being Wolf Creek (Wolf Creek 2 in the works!!!). But RE your second paragraph, I agree the most with. The croc is not all too unrealistic. And unlike every other croc film I've seen, I felt this was not cheesy in the slightest. Seemed to be a little modest on the rating however. For me personally, I'd say a sold 4! Haha Great review!

    9 months agoby @cryptFlag

  29. Bawnian©-Dexeus

    I love a good gore animal film from time to time. as long as it keeps you interested regardless of its budget.

    2 years agoby @bawnian-dexeusFlag

  30. Bryan Yentz

    Great job, man. Dug this movie quite a bit.

    2 years agoby @bryanyentzFlag