Rogue (Unrated) Review

Written by: alex1176   

First off, I have something to confess; I'm in love with Aussie actress Radha Mitchell. The blonde beauty first got my attention in "Silent Hill", but I've just spent the entire summer watching a number of her movies. She's got a down-to-earth, "girl next door" screen presence and some great acting chops. In fact, I just bought her 2004 indie comedy "Mozart and the Whale" which is a major charmer. And she's also the main reason why I wanted to see "Rogue", not because it's director Greg McLean's follow-up to his horror hit "Wolf Creek".

"Creek" was something of a horror hybrid.  It blended the documentary styles of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Blair Witch Project" to good effect. "Rogue", on the other hand,  is more in the tradition of "Lake Placid"; a crocodile version of "Jaws". And while it does have an electriyfing climax, the movie doesn't have much of a payoff. It's a slow-paced film with cardboard characters and no real sense of suspense (except for the end) due to its predictable nature. Unfortunately, I could tell who was going to get eaten and when a major character seemed to have kicked the bucket, I knew they would be alright. The attack scenes are done extremely well, but there are too few of them. In addition, blood and gore are virtually non-existent. Some of the red stuff does appear on screen, but unlike "Wolf Creek", there was no reason to place an "Unrated" to the DVD cover art. If this was "Unrated", I would think the "R" version was bloodless!

Normally, I'd rate the film with a 6 out of 10. But thanks to pretty Radha (and the final showdown), I'll give it a 7. Through her performance, the film gets its most rounded character because we actually care about her safety (or at least I did!). With a beautiful smile, gorgeous green eyes, and a charming Aussie accent, captain Kate (Radha) is someone you wouldn't want to see eaten by an animal. Her ex-boyfriend is played Sam Worthington who will appear in next year's "Terminator Salvation" and James Cameron's "Avatar". He doesn't make much of an impression here, but as I said before, the movie's screenplay is lacking. Most of the actors are just reduced to reacting.

Overall, this is a film that will probably disappoint fans of McLean's "Wolf Creek". However, if you can stomach the slow pace and predictable screenplay, the director's style will probably win you over, just don't expect a lot of scares or blood.