The Reef (2010)

Directed by: Andrew Traucki | 94 minutes | horror, thriller | Actors: Damian Walshe-Howling, Gyton Grantley, Adrienne Pickering, Zoe Naylor, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Mark Simpson

Oh no, not another shark movie! ‘Jaws’ was great, but how much longer can we piggyback on the success of this film? Many movies that are just about a shark chasing a couple of bathers (‘Jaws’ was more than that) fail. For example, because the tension is not built up carefully enough, or because too little is invested in the characters. Once in a while, however, it turns out that it is (still) possible to make a shark horror film that causes goosebumps. Nail Biter ‘The Reef’, by Australian filmmaker Andrew Traucki, is one such film.

Traucki seems to have a penchant for horror stories set in water, since he also made ‘Black Water’ in 2007, in which a crocodile sows death and destruction in a swamp. Wherever his fascination for these kinds of stories comes from, he clearly has a talent for making them tangible for the viewer. ‘The Reef’ takes a while to get going – calm and innocent with a pleasure cruise – but from the moment the boat rips open by hitting a razor-sharp reef, there’s practically non-stop excitement.

It’s nice that the characters are sympathetic, behave reasonably realistically, and don’t act overly stupid or hysterical. The emotions are just right. Apart from the very fast capsizing of the boat after the collision with the reef, the film seems credible. And the background information (e.g. about the couple who took a break from the relationship and might get back together if all goes well) may not be original, but it’s accurate enough to have some investment in their destiny and not just see them as to see shark food.

The film’s central dilemma is also a tantalizing one: should the characters on the upturned boat continue to hope that help will arrive (which is unlikely), with the assurance that the boat will eventually sink, dehydration threatens due to lack of drinking water? , and the knowledge that sharks swim there. Or should they try to swim to an island about 15 kilometers away, whose exact location has to be guessed, and also with the knowledge that sharks are swimming there. What would you do? Neither is fun, and in either case, there’s a good chance that the result will be death. After some deliberation and deliberation, several go for a swim, using a piece of bodyboard as a float.

While the plot and characters are simple and sketchy, the way Traucki builds up the encounter(s) with the shark is masterful. First of all, the camera is on the same level as the (heads of the) characters, which makes everything very “intimate”. As a viewer, you swim and float along with the characters, as it were, and you can see the fear of death in their eyes (and experience it yourself). Second, it always takes a while before the shark is really identified as such and gets close. Often a character will stare underwater for a long time with his diving mask, without seeing anything that resembles a shark. The viewer then watches with him and scans the entire screen, waiting for the shock of the appearance of a shark. But usually there is nothing to see, which is nerve-wracking.

When the shark actually shows up, the panic is of course total and the fear unimaginable. Some stiffen, almost go into shock, others scream and yell or start floundering, which is often not a good idea. After a first encounter, a character does not dare to swim further for fear that the shark will attack the moment it sees movement. An understandable, but impossible situation. After all, they have to go further to get to the island. Awful. Fortunately, in the long run a moment of relative calm sets in, but it is only after the credits that a moment of relaxation really begins for the spectator. And then only because of the realization that he is safe at home. The usual ‘it was just a movie’ reassurance, however, only partially works here. According to the makers, ‘The Reef’ is based on true events. That can also be added.