ROGUE - DVD review

Back in 1974, an overly aggressive saltwater crocodile known as "Sweetheart" was responsible for numerous attacks on humans in the Northern Territory of Australia. Over the course of five terrifying years, the rogue reptile reportedly made short work of any dinghy, fishing boat, or outboard motor intruding in what he felt was his own personal space. Sweetheart was eventually caught by wildlife officials and died a short time later in captivity, but his story lives on serving as the inspiration behind the film "Rogue."

Besides being one of the most misspelled words all over the Internet (rogue vs. rouge--sorry... it's a pet peeve of mine), "Rogue" is a horror movie written, produced, and directed by Greg McLean--the man who brought us 2005's "Wolf Creek." McLean actually penned the script for his creature feature roughly a decade before "Wolf Creek" hit theaters, and received the green-light to revisit his old snaggletooth project thanks to the box office success of his first theatrical hit.

Unfortunately, "Rogue" didn't last much longer than a week in US theaters, which is sad because it's really a decent flick. In fact, as of the time of this writing, "Rogue" has a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes if that's any indication for you. Most moviegoers seemed to have passed it over assuming it is just another run-of-the-mill man versus monster affair--even yours truly was guilty of that misconception--and I think that had some impact on why I ended up liking it. My expectations were low, and it turned out to be a well-made movie that sets itself apart from its problematic brethren. "Rogue" isn't as cheesy as "Lake Placid," serious as "Black Water," ludicrous as "Primeval," or downright dull and boring as "Croc." I'm not even going to touch the horrid "Lake Placid 2" with a stick, as I'd probably end up catching some sort of disease.

Anyway in "Rogue," Michael Vartan (TV's "Alias") stars as Pete McKell, a cynical travel writer from Chicago doing research for one of his upcoming articles in the remote north of Australia. You could say Pete is having a bad day--the airport lost his luggage, his cell phone has poor reception in the area, and one of the locals had a hoot slipping a dead fly into his coffee. If that wasn't enough bad news for the city slicker, he finds the scorching heat nearly unbearable, the bugs relentless, and to top things off, he's about to be crammed in with a bunch of other tourists aboard Ryan's Wilderness Cruise for the rest of the afternoon. Good times.

What Pete doesn't realize, though, is that the worst is yet to come. Kate Ryan (Radha Mitchell), the tour guide and captain for the sightseeing trip, takes the group downriver to marvel nature at its finest. This first act is slow going, taking the time to build up character development, but McLean doesn't drag things out here as much as he did in "Wolf Creek." The pacing is better, and the characters on the boat felt like regular people instead of the usual over-exaggerated caricatures we normally find in these types of films.

Just as the cruise is about to turn around and head back, one of the tourists spots a flare in the distance. Kate informs everyone that it's part of her job and duty to investigate, and much to the dismay of most the group who have tight schedules to keep, the party is forced to continue on their present course to see if someone is in dire need of help.

Eventually, the group comes across the overturned wreckage of a smaller fishing boat in the river, although there are no immediate signs of life in the water or on the riverbank. That's when out of the blue, something massive rams the tour boat from beneath and causes enough damage that they start taking on water. Kate has no choice but to beach her boat on a nearby sandbar to get everybody on board to safety, and with no cell phone signals and a damaged radio, they find themselves up the creek without a paddle.

Waiting for rescue isn't such a bad thing under normal circumstances, but here the group learns that it was an aggressive rogue crocodile who put them on the sidelines, and the tides are causing the waters to rise. The situation becomes increasingly tense and suspenseful, for soon the whole little island that is keeping the victims relatively dry and out of harm's way will be completely submerged in a matter of hours. I guess Pete should have stayed in bed today after all.

"Rogue" doesn't really bring anything new to the table, but the film just has an authenticity about it that somehow makes it work. Most of the production is filmed in stunning locations rarely seen by the general public, and McLean had to acquire special permits to enter and film these untouched Gardens of Eden. Also during the cruise, the cast swats away at real bugs, as I saw flies land on their faces more than once. I know this isn't technically a big deal, but with all of the green screen overusage nowadays, it was a nice change of pace. I wish more directors would take a page from McLean and not totally copout with their special effects.

Speaking of effects, we don't get to see the villain very often in "Rogue," but when we do the effects team have done a marvelous job with both the digital and mechanical aspect of the crocodile. There wasn't a single moment where I thought it looked phony or cheap, that's how solid it looks on camera. The movie monster is also about seven meters long, as opposed to Sweetheart who was just over five. According to the bonus features, though, the film's croc still doesn't quite top the largest ones out there in the wild. Essentially, McLean pushes the limit as far as he can while keeping it firmly anchored within the realm of reality.

Video:
If I had to guess, I'd say "Rogue" was shot with digital technology because all I can say is the anamorphic widescreen 1.78:1 transfer is spectacular. The colors are particularly eye-catching, especially the vibrant greens of the plant life and the warm reddish-browns peppering the riverbanks and gorges. I did notice a very miniscule amount of grain in the darker scenes, but it was never distracting. Most of the night shots were actually pretty bright since the cast made use of emergency lighting equipment found on their boat.

Audio:
The disc only contains a lone Dolby Digital 5.1 track, but it's one that will surely please even the fussiest of audiophiles. The musical score by composer François Tetaz was quite soothing, and even minor surround background noises such as locusts buzzing and birds chirping really enhanced the viewing experience. The DVD also includes optional English and Spanish subtitles.

Extras:
The first bonus feature on the disc is an "Audio Commentary with Writer/Producer/Director Greg McLean." If you've read some of my other reviews, you're probably aware that I'm not all too crazy about one-man commentaries, but McLean does a decent job at sharing insights from a filmmaker's perspective. One example is that the production crew actually used real animal bones (another authentic touch) in the crocodile lair, and in the dampness and heat, the remains started to give off an awful smell.

"The Making of Rogue" (46:03) is one of the most thorough "making ofs" I've seen yet. This documentary contains tons of production info, cast and crew interviews, inside looks at the special effects, and more. Vartan explains how his fear on-screen is often genuine, as he knew he was in areas with deadly critters, and the animatronic crocodile's snapping jaws were almost as deadly as a real one's. The actor had to be extremely careful when placing his hand during one attack sequence just so he didn't end up getting hurt or worse.

"Welcome to the Territory: Gallery of Mini Documentaries" is a collection of three self-explanatory featurettes: "The Effects" (17:25), "The Music" (14:38), and "Northern Territory" (14:41). Some of this info is rehashed from "The Making of Rogue," although there is new material included here as well.

"The Real Rogue" (2:29) is a short podcast revealing how the visual effects crew made a point of studying real life crocodiles so the one in "Rogue" was as realistic as possible.

Things finish with a "Theatrical Trailer" (2:07), and a few forced previews on startup: "thetruth.com," "Halloween," "1408," "Broken," and "Welcome to the Jungle."

The Final Cut:
Like I mentioned earlier, "Rogue" doesn't really evolve into anything new, but it still provides a snappy good time. When I first read the synopsis about a boat being crippled by a crocodile and trapping the humans somewhere out in the Australian boonies, I thought it sounded awfully similar to the plot for Black Water. After seeing the movie, though, I can honestly say that there are enough significant differences to place each film in their own boat--creating two entirely separate and enjoyable entities.