The Reef

Like Open Water, filmmaker Andrew Traucki's The Reef explores the dramatic possibilities of swimmers who find themselves lost in shark-infested seas. Four Australian friends—Luke (Damian Walshe-Howling) and onetime girlfriend Kate (Zoe Naylor), along with Matt (Gyton Grantley) and Suzie (Adrienne Pickering)—board a yacht for a sailing trip with skipper Warren (Kieran Darcy-Smith). But when the vessel veers too near the Great Barrier Reef, it's damaged by the rocks and begins to sink. Warren insists on staying with the wreckage, but the two couples swim off, hoping to make their way to land. Of course, a Great White starts to circle them, and before they can reach the nearest island, some meet a grisly fate. While the actual attacks are simply but effectively staged, the bland characterizations, feeble dialogue, and amateurish acting sink the movie as effectively as the reef does the boat. Open Water may not have been perfect, but it's a far more gripping exercise in tension-building than this inferior imitation. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Shooting with Sharks” making-of featurette (24 min.) and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing horror film.] (F. Swietek)