The shark film is a class in itself nowadays, however Stephen Spielberg‘s groundbreaking 1985 blockbuster, Jaws, transcends style altogether in that it’s merely a masterclass in cinematic storytelling; a cross-continental landmark for Hollywood’s golden period, broadly appreciated throughout the globe. So many movies have been impressed by its genius, from knowingly over-the-top actioners like Renny Harlin‘s preposterously enjoyable Deep Blue Sea to quirky left turns such because the late Roger Corman produced, Joe Dante helmed, Piranha. There is no stopping the pantheon.

Positive, movies like Nice White and The Shallows are largely entertaining spectacles, however oftentimes, realism is surrendered in favor of the deliverance of brutal thrills. That is what makes the 2010 Australian thriller, The Reef, stand out. It is an authentically scary train in primal terror due to its emphasis on real suspense and realism, leading to among the finest shark motion pictures to interrupt water since Brody instructed us we wanted a much bigger boat.

‘The Reef’ Was Impressed by a True Story

As if it weren’t already terrifying sufficient, The Reef is at the very least partially impressed by a real story. The actual-life incident reportedly happened within the ’80s and concerned a shipwreck’s sole survivor being rescued from the ocean after his fellow crew members had been purportedly taken by a shark. Whereas Jaws is predicated on Peter Benchley‘s novel, it appears Traucki’s foray into shark-infested waters was the results of this horrifying slice of life. After all, occasions are made significantly extra complicated and dramatic for the film’s sake, however a gripping faithfulness to realism stays intact, with some gorgeous underwater pictures employed to nice impact as soon as the shark does arrive on-screen.

And very similar to Jaws, it does take some time for the aquatic tormentor to make its first unobstructed look on the movie’s midpoint or thereabouts, whereas the buildup is all expertly calibrated suspense. Matt (Gyton Gantley), his sister Kate (Zoe Naylor), and his associate Suzie (Adrienne Pickering) journey to Queensland to affix Matt’s pal, Luke (Damian Walshe-Howling), on a crusing journey to Indonesia to drop off a yacht. Luke and Kate are former flames with residual emotions nonetheless simmering regardless of refined resistance and reservation from either side. There are some key moments the place stated flame sparkles, together with a quick interlude the place the group units off to a picturesque island effectively earlier than bother strikes. All of the actors hit the proper notes within the lead-up to the movie’s most seismic occasion and Traucki demonstrates rapidly that he’s invested in character and the human angle as a lot as he’s with the horror of being hunted.

Finally, The Reef works as a result of it teases the viewers right into a state of wound-up expectation. The nerves are on excessive alert effectively earlier than the primary strike, and the depth refuses to relent because the movie dashes by its third act. As soon as the crusing boat capsizes following a collision with a protruding reef, the 4 protagonists, minus the cautious sailor Warren (Kieran Darcy Smith), who stays behind, resolve to attempt their luck on the open seas, heading for an island that, as Kate notes, they “cannot see.” Geared up with the information that it is their finest shot at survival, with the solar unforgiving and the water provide dwindling, the posse enterprise forth, sliced-up boogie boards in tow for flotation. There are encounters with mutilated turtles and terrified colleges of fish earlier than the sizable Nice White is formally encountered, and the foreshadowing is excessive.

‘The Reef’ Is Simply as A lot In regards to the Characters as It Is the Shark

From there, it is a chase film out at sea, and regardless of the regular efforts of Luke to calm the group, the paralyzing situational terror is captured with devastating aplomb. The primary assault is shudder-inducing, the disappearance and subsequent reemergence routine of the shark notably well-handled. The Reef, whereas sharing similarities with one thing like Open Water, is superior as a result of it’s extra eventful (viscerally talking) and it incorporates larger heft.

Every one of many predominant gamers is afforded substantial time to reveal who they’re and whom they care about, which subsequently renders the on-screen drama wrenching and the worry issue forceful. Traucki is adept at capturing the hectic helplessness of being fully on the mercy of nature’s most unconquerable components. Nonetheless, by all of it, his motion pictures are additionally linked by characters who’ve been by some issues. There may be already a subtext or a subplot lurking beneath the floor earlier than terror strikes, and that is what provides The Reef its edge. That and the truth that the fusion of underwater footage and successfully quickfire results make the expertise fully unsettling and, at occasions, harrowing.

Come 2025 it will be 50 years since Spielberg’s Jaws endlessly modified the film-going panorama (or seascape), and the pantheon of oceanic thrillers which have adopted since its launch have continued to variably enthrall audiences jonesing for shark-generated terror. As seminal as Psycho was to the horror style at massive, Jaws casts an imposing, 25ft shadow. When the system is well-executed, the vanity nonetheless delivers, and The Reef succeeds in being one of many strongest shark flicks round. Its well-spaced scares and gnarly suspense assist engender an phantasm that each one is unfolding, chillingly, in actual time.

The Reef is offered to stream on Prime Video within the U.S.

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