The Reef (2010)

"The Reef" is only loosely based on the overturning of a fishing trawler in rough seas off the North Queensland coast in 1983. The three survivors were attacked by one or more Tiger sharks, and only the captain was able to swim to a reef where he was rescued by searchers.

"The Reef" tells the story of four friends who are forced to abandon their overturned small yacht off the coast of North Queensland when the boat's keel is torn off by impact with rock or coral. There is little time for character development in the short time that elapses before tragedy strikes the travellers.

Fearing that the boat will be carried further out to sea by the current or sink, the four decide to swim to Turtle Island which is believed to be about ten miles away. On their long swim they are constantly stalked by one of the most fearsome predators in the sea a Great White shark. The impact of the story is greatly enhanced by the refusal of the film makers to fall back on unrealistic CGI sharks. As they are repeatedly attacked by the Great White, the actors appear to be actually in the sea with a real shark. The cinematography, both above and below water, deserves the highest marks. Without giving the story away, it can be said that the film has some truly frightening moments, and the sense of unrelenting menace creates almost unbearable tension and raises this film well above "Open Water" on a scare factor rating.

The product of 15 million years of evolution, the Great White is probably the most intelligent shark in the sea, and noted for its ability to lift its head out of the water to appraise its prey or those who are hunting it, as was seen in "Jaws". Attack images of the outthrust jaws of Great White sharks are truly nightmarish and the film makers have not erred in placing this monster close to Turtle Island which is located at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. The Great White has been known to range much further north along the Great Barrier Reef.

It's hard to compare this movie to others. It was loosely based on a true story with some obvious liberties for plot. It fell beneath the radar as it was an Austrailian made film. Just in its release there were places banning the movie due to the expected effect that it would have on Austrailian tourism. Perhaps this is because it is a very realisticly made movie taking place in an area of Austrailia which is reknown for seals as well as the Apex predators that feed on them. The reefs are a beauty unlike any other but harbor many dangers. There is much realism in the production value here. By this I mean that they used only real sharks in the filming of the movie. No CGI effects to "muddy the water" here. The actors were in the water at times with a true Great White shark.

I think that these facts add to the tension. And tension is what this movie gives you over and over.

I will not spoil the fun but the basic plot takes 4 aussies out on a chartered boat together in search of a deserted island. They find it without any problem but within about 20 minutes of the film the subject matter takes a turn. The boat they are on hits a Reef in the middle of the night turning a nice trip into a fight for survival. Being in a remote area with no planes flying over is a recipe for disaster. Some 12 miles away from the island they just visited (perhaps the size of a gymnasium) they find themselves in the water with no supplies (all washed into the ocean). They climb on top of the far too damaged bottom of the boat and plan their next step. The captain of the boat (a commercial fisherman and sea salt) makes the most prophetic and educated statement of the movie which is chilling to those with a fear of the ocean and it's elements, "I've fished these waters for years and I know what is in these waters. You will never get me into this water. I will stay on the boat no matter what!"

Herein lies the tension of the film. Forced with either staying on the boat until they are found (and possibly moving deeper into sea and more into trouble on the current that is pulling them to ?) OR making a life or death swim 12 miles through shark infested water to get back to the island they were forced to leave after a very brief visit. I will not go into the whos and what's but some stay and some leave and what happens from here is over 1 hour of a life or death struggle with the fears that many of us dream about while safely out of said water.

The biggest reason to watch this movie is because of the way it plays with you psychologically. Early in the film one of the main characters has just gotten into the water for the first time and after several minutes of magnificent underwater life it all of a sudden gets extremely calm all around her. Like the sound has been completely taken away. She looks around her, to the right, the left, behind her... And then she sees a shark swimming deep below the surface in the craggy reef. She doesn't know what to do. Swim away? Sit still? This is the mood that the directors are going for and it is achieved. A haunting sense of the unknown, of being in a situation you can't possible control. This movie is well acted, well paced and enjoyable if you like a good scare or the uncomfortable feeling like that scare is slowly circling you and sizing you up.. At that point it is just too late...

On the negatives a certain reef scene near the end is just a little too scripted to fit and I will give no more away. Other than that particular scene near the end of the film it felt genuine and scary!

In short, I highly reccomend this film. It is not likely at your local rental store as it was not domestically touted but it is a truly well made and tense shark attack movie based on a true story. Enjoy!

Buy The Reef (2010) Now

THIS IS THE BEST SHARK MOVIE SINCE JAWS THE WAY THE DIRECTOR USES FOOTAGE OF THE GREAT WHITE SHARK IS FANTASTIC VERY REALISTIC NOT LIKE ALOT OF THE CGI THAT IS USED IN MOVIES THESE DAYS THIS IS A MUST BUY FOR ANYONE INTO THESE KIND OF MOVIES YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED ALSO DONT COMPARE THIS TO OPEN WATER AS THIS IS WAY BETTER AND IS ALOT MORE EXCITING ..... ENJOY!!!

Read Best Reviews of The Reef (2010) Here

Judge Patrick Naugle, DVD Verdict-To look at the cover of The Reef you would assume one of two things. The first would be that this is a chintzy, fourth rate B-movie from a studio cashing in on every other killer shark movie made in the past decade, especially the upcoming big budget thriller Shark Night 3D (which, by the way, looks flippin' awesome...but I digress). The second would be that this is one of those Roger Corman produced Syfy station clunkers about various slimy, horrible monsters/reptiles/mutations/hybrids that battle each other under a San Francisco bridge. The good news is you'd be wrong on both counts: The Reef is a small but tightly tuned thriller that gets the job done when it comes to killer sharks and fleshy bodies floating around in the water.

The Reef is one of those movies that is scary not because it's well constructed (although it's put together well) and not because it uses music to maximum effect (although that's not bad, either). No, The Reef is scary because it drops you into a situation that, even in the hands of Ed Wood or Uwe Boll, would make you crap your pants on a Sunday in the middle of a rainstorm. It's pretty hard to screw up throwing sane, competent adults into the middle of the ocean with mindless eating machines.

The Reef is presented in 2.35:1 widescreen in 1080p resolution. This is a very good looking image that has sharp colors and a very crisp picture. Much of the film takes place outdoors on the open sea and the bright blues of both the open ocean and the clear skies make for a vibrant, often brightly lit picture. No noticeable defects can be seen during the film's runtime. Overall Image Entertainment has done a very fine job with this transfer.

The soundtrack is presented in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and, while adequate to the film, doesn't leave a lot to be desired in the way of giving your sound system a hearty workout. There are some sporadic moments when the rear and front speakers kick in to give the viewer a nice surround sound feel--mainly during the shark attacks--but this is a mostly front heavy sound mix filled with moments of ambient sound (and some scary music). Also included on this disc are English SDH and Spanish subtitles.

There is little in the way of extra features on The Reef. All viewers get is a fairly short making-of featurette titled "Shooting with Sharks" which has some talking head interviews with the cast and the crew, behind-the-scenes footage and other EPK materials you'd find on typical promo pieces.

-Full review at dvdverdict.com

Want The Reef (2010) Discount?

This is a well-done and entertaining shark movie that caught me by surprise. While I wasn't expecting a lot more than the normal "B-movie" shark fare, this was both a pretty a good story and had sharks as vivid and mesmorizing as watching the real thing. Those who liked "Open Water" should like it; similar type of plot but "The Reef" is even better.

The main plot is four shipwrecked survivors must basically swim/float their through 10 miles of great white shark infested waters in Australia. Unlike "Open Water," the viewer sees actual sharks above and below the surface but the sharks don't come across as either large fake contraptions, or obvious CGI (perhaps as others allude to because they're neither). The movie also quite nicely adds subtle bits of tension leading up to the main meat of the plot. Besides "Open Water" in a way one could consider this the "Blair Witch" of shark movies...but without the "herky-jerk" camera-work. After watching it, I watched it a second time within a couple days.

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