The Reef

(Andrew Traucki/2010/Australia)

The Reef is based around real events in 1983 when fishing boat The New Venture capsized off the coast of Australia and its crew, attempting to swim to safety, were preyed upon by a tiger shark which killed two of them, Dennis Murphy and Linda Ann Horten, and almost killed the skipper Ray Boundy. For dramatic licence three is boosted to five in this film, with a couple and an ex couple providing emotional subplots and character arcs to work the audience’s sympathies and keep them engaged. Unfortunately the set ups for these characters are rather clunky and actually detract from the overall story. This is part script and part performance related. No one is winning Oscars here but The Reef does stand out for a few other reasons. The use of real footage of a shark lends credence and weight to the build of tension and although most of the film is spent floating in water Traucki works with the banality of the setting to create genuine moments of nervy panic. It doesn’t sustain itself though and unfortunately becomes quite repetitive. Because the film is attempting to present a realistic account of how a shark would prey on people the script is confined to a handful of action flash points and there are only so many moments of quiet panic that will work. However there are some great shots of the reef itself, an Australian environment rarely seen in cinema to my knowledge. The other thing that marks it out for me is a personal gripe I have with Australian cinema of recent times. In an industry that has tended towards extreme gore and graphic violence it was refreshing to see a film that relied on realistic storytelling and attempted to shock through true suspense rather than in your face blood and guts.

(2.5/5)