Rogue (2007) Review

WEEK 4: WHAT A CROC 

Rogue (2007) Review

The second giant crocodile movie to come out in 2007, Rogue, is from the director of the Australian horror film Wolf Creek, which I was not the biggest fan of. However, that was a completely different type of film, and while Rogue is similar to 2007's other croc movie Primeval in some basic ways, it’s really very different, and unique in the sub-genre of killer animal films.

The plot is simply about a travel writer who boards a river tour boat that takes tourists to the heart of the Northern Territory in Australia, where the largest crocodiles in the world, saltwater crocodiles, thrive. Accompanying the travel writer is a collection of other tourists—not the typical cast of characters for a killer animal movie—and also patrolling the river are a couple of yahoos who interrupt the tour, but they aren’t too difficult to get rid of. What proves much harder to deter is a giant saltwater crocodile, which attacks the tour boat and causes the group to crash and become stranded on a mud isle in a tidal part of the river. The tide is coming up, the sun is beginning to set, and the crocodile’s belly is far from full...

Rogue begins with a short scene where a real-life saltwater crocodile ambushes a water buffalo and takes it down. It’s the perfect way to open the film, because it sets the realistic tone maintained throughout, and shows this is not just a generic man-eating monstrosity. Rogue might be the most realistic crocodile film of all-time—if not one of the most realistic killer animal films in general. As a result, it is not the typical slam-bang monster movie most natural horror films usually turn out to be. Rogue is a slow burn thriller about surviving nature, with long stretches of little to no dialogue, and a total absence of cheesy effects or silly action, putting it more in the vein of something like The Edge or The Grey. And while an argument could be made that it’s the best made killer croc movie, I don’t think it’s the most entertaining of all.

As I've said before, there are basically two types of killer animal films: character-driven and creature-driven. It might not always be that cut and dry, but Rogue is most definitely character-driven, and there are a couple problems because of this. While there are no big stars (minus a pre-Avatar Sam Worthington and young Mia Wasikowska) and no standout characters, there’s not a single bad performance, either. The main character (the travel writer) is not very likeable, and the tour guide, who’s the other main character (played by Radha Mitchell) is admirable, but lacking in emotion. I did start to feel for them as their situation continued to worsen, but ultimately, in a movie asking the audience to care about the characters, they weren’t relatable enough to care significantly for.

Rogue works to build suspense rather than going for generic action, which is reputable, but not done flawlessly. The first act, where everyone goes on the tour, makes the viewer feel like they’re on the tour as well. This is effectively done and works to introduce the characters, but I felt like I never really got to know all the characters extremely well (I have no idea what most of their names were), and it felt like a lesson on crocodiles you might get in a high school science class. The scientific accuracy is what partly contributes to the persistent realism. Some of the pluses are actually things completely absent from the whole movie, like jump scares and cheap references to other killer animal movies, namely Jaws. In place of teasing evidence for a beastly creature lurking about, there is gorgeous cinematography and fantastic scenic shots of the Australian wilderness (the scenes set at night were also very well directed).

Rogue is a bit misleading by making viewers expect an animal amok when it really isn’t trying to be an Anaconda or Lake Placid, and this is why I was disappointed by Rogue after watching it for the first time, because the crocodile is not featured as prominently as in most killer croc films. But, in this case, less is more. The crocodile, when shown, looks frightening, and behaves like a real crocodile would. The carnage is conservative, but there are a couple shocking deaths, and the first victim is taken so suddenly, no one (including the audience) sees more than a tail disappearing back into the river. Like the shark in Jaws, every time the crocodile appears in Rogue, it feels significant and unnerving. But Jaws hides the shark for most of the movie, choosing the right moments to show it and doing so often enough throughout to never make it feel like the shark wasn’t being shown enough, the crocodile’s appearances aren’t as well spaced out. It reminded me of the complaints about 2014’s Godzilla. People said Godzilla wasn’t shown enough, and many people will say the crocodile in Rogue wasn’t shown enough, but it’s less a matter of actual screen time and more a matter of spacing out when it’s seen.

The biggest problems with Rogue occur in the second act. After everyone becomes stranded on the isle and realize the croc is lying in wait for them, they concoct a fairly acceptable plan to escape. After this first plan fails, the second plan seems pretty dumb by comparison, and results in a lot of waiting, both for the characters and for the audience. While waiting, the characters joke with one another a couple times, and I think the lack of humour throughout prevents Rogue from being a truly fantastic killer animal film. People often forget how consistently funny Jaws is amid all the horrific scenes. Rogue is sporadically funny, and the humour might trigger a chuckle at best. I’m trying not to compare Rogue to Jaws too much, but it does come close to being in that realm of high quality.

Rogue is not without problems, but I applaud the filmmakers for stepping outside the usual killer animal formula and trying something bold. The final twenty minutes are not what you might expect, and though similar to Primeval’s ending, is far superior, and is my favourite part of the whole film. I definitely recommend Rogue to anyone looking for a more serious, but still great, animal attack film.