Making a name for himself with the surprise, gore infested hit slasher movie Wolf Creek, Australian writer/director Greg McLean returns with another Northern Territory set horror film named Rogue. However, this time instead of a sadistic killer as his main protagonist, McLean has drafted an aggressive 7 metre crocodile to terrorize a group of tourists - Michael Vartan and Radha Mitchell among them – who are stuck on a small dirt island in the middle of a rising river.
Greg McLean distances himself from the Splatter Pack
By cutting back on Wolf Creek’s high gore factor, and focusing instead on creating a film with well paced suspense and finely tuned tension, Greg McLean has successfully distanced himself for the likes of Eli Roth (Hostel) and Rob Zombie (The Devil’s Rejects), while also creating a fine monster movie which clearly uses Steven Spielberg’s 1975 monster opus Jaws as a template to work from.
7 metre crocodile successfully brought to life
The monstrous crocodile featured in Rogue is an ultra-realistic and unnerving design which does its job of scaring its audience half to death adequately. The crocodile was created by John Cox and The Creature Workshop – who won an Oscar for their work in Babe – and in another tribute to Steven Spielberg and Jaws, Greg McLean named the crocodile “Phil” after his agent. Spielberg, of course, named his great white shark “Bruce” after his lawyer.
Radha Mitchell and Michael Vartan head a solid cast
Rogue is by no means a character driven film, but the performances given by the films cast more than holds the viewers attention during dialogue driven scenes, and contemplate the special effects sequences very well. Radha Mitchell, an Australian actress who has made her mark in the United States with roles in Phone Both and Melinda & Melinda, returns to her home country and gives the film a commercially viable name to promote in the process. Alongside Mitchell is American actor Michael Vartan (of TV’s Alias), who so impressed Australian viewers that he was awarded the “Best Blow-In” award at the 2008 Filmink Movie Awards. Veteran Australian actor John Jarrett, who played Greg McLean’s sadistic killer in Wolf Creek, surprises with a gentle turn as a grieving widow, and Stephen Curry – of The Castle fame – provides a sharp sense of humour to offside the films tension filled atmosphere.
Rogue is a good first step for the Australian Film Industry
Rogue is one of the more entertaining Australian films released in some time, and although it failed to set the local box office alight, it is a good first step for the Australian Film Industry who usually stay away from genre films, and focus there attention on much more serious and artistic fare. Hopefully Australia will be known as a country which can produce credible and entertaining genre licks, much like in their Mad Max heyday.
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