Written and directed by Andrew Traucki. Starring Damian Walshe-Howling, Zoe Naylor, Gyton Grantley, Adrienne Pickering and Kieran Darcy-Smith.
Plot: a sailing trip turns into a nightmare for a small group of friends when their boat capsizes and a great white shark begins to stalk them.
Luke (Walshe-Howling) delivers boats to people. We didn’t know that people actually drove boats to buyers, but apparently it’s a thing that happens. Anyway, Luke delivers boats and this go round, he’s delivering a yacht to Indonesia. He invites his old friend Matt (Grantley) to come along. Matt agrees and brings his girlfriend, Suzie (Pickering), and his sister, Kate (Naylor), as well. Kate has a romantic history with Luke, of course, so that’s a bit of a dramatic subplot. The fifth member of the party is Warren (Darcy-Smith), a fellow sailor and friend of Luke’s.
On the second day, the boat capsizes and the five of them are stranded miles and miles from land. Luke decides it’s best to swim for it (bad idea), while Warren, who knows what’s in the water, believes it’s best to hang out on top of the capsized boat (also a bad idea, damn). The other three take awhile to decide which man to follow. Then, the swimming starts. As does the death.
Since this is based on a true story, you can find out almost everything that’s gonna happen without ever watching the movie. It’s a sad ass story, too. The film, I don’t think, was quite sad enough. The story is just so awful. For example, in real life, one of the ones who died early on had their leg bitten off first. They then thought about the most intelligent and compassionate they could do, and ultimately decided to swim away, luring the shark far from their friends. This worked – somewhat – and the legless person was eaten by the shark while the others moved closer to land. This exact thing does not happen in the movie. Kind of pissed that it didn’t. I think that would have elevated the story.
It was realistic though. They didn’t embellish what a shark would and wouldn’t actually do. The acting was excellent, too. And to be honest, I jumped once. I’m not proud of that, but the director had a fish sneak into the shot and it freaked me out.
I suppose I could list my favorite movies here, but instead I'll give you a strange glimpse into what makes me TaraRomero.
1. I met George Romero. He was the kindest and sweetest man. He talked to me for longer than he should have with the line getting longer. He also held my hand. And when he noticed the ladybug I have tattooed on my wrist, he said he liked it and asked me it's name. Till then, it had not had a name. Now, I call him George.
2. I love stickers. All stickers. I just adore them. I even ask for stickers for Christmas! As a matter of fact, the birthday that just past, every member of my immediate family gave me sticker packs as gifts. Affordable and extremely appreciated.
3. I have never put much stock in astrology or horoscopes, but I LOVE the magic of the MBTI. Omg. I am an INFP and it actually sounds just like me. Introverted mostly. Creative always. Heart before head and not the most logical. Totally me! For better or worse.
4. It's no surprise I count horror so high up on the list of things that make me, me. However, it's so within my soul that I was part of the Horror Club in college. Interesting bunch. And even took a Horror Lit class as an elective. I got an A.
5. Coffee always makes me happy. Always. I'm particularly fond of caramel macchiatos. But I'll drink black coffee if it's the only thing available.
6. I hate shock for the sake of shock and endings that depress me. I always mention the movies Within (2016) and the Eli Roth produced, written and starred in, Aftershock (2012), as proof of this distate I have. I abhor the idea that just because I like horror, some people think I'd actually praise a movie that lets you think the "Final Girl" just made it through the night, only to slap her in the face with a tsunami.
7. We are big time animal people. I mean, if I could, I'd have an elephant, a bear, a zebra, a penguin, an otter and a meerkat, living with me. Seriously though. We have 2 dogs right now and 2 cats. Both cats we picked up when they each came to our front door hungry. And both dogs we got from 2 different sets of neighbors. Both who, unfortunately, don't know how to care for pets long-term. But they're happy and healthy now!!
8. Revisiting my love of horror, one of the above cats, my cat, is a little black guy named Church. Because Pet Sematary. His middle name is even Pascow. To give credit where credit's due, the name was DJ's idea. But he loves horror too!
9. I'm big into art. Along with movie posters and an Anne Frank quote, I have some actual paintings on my wall. I really think Dali paints beautifully when he wants to. And if I don't get to see Michaelangelo's Pieta in person some day, I will be very disappointed.
10. Lastly, I find Emily Dickinson's poetry intriguing. I took an elective course about her as well. But do you know I injected horror even there? I was given a poem to dissect and I picked one on death, of course. Then, I researched old "Death Photos" and even printed out copies for everyone in the class. They were so interested in looking at them that it stopped them from all looking at me, and I was able to deal quite well with my stage fright. Haha
View all posts by TaraRomero
BLOOD RED REVIEWS 