PEEPHOLE REVIEW: The Reef (2010)

Pray That You Drown First!

The Aussies and New Zealanders have always been good for a thrill (The Long Weekend, The Last Wave, Wolf Creek, Dead Alive...), so picking up this latest open water chiller was a given.  And just as the Ausies like to do, the story is heavy on character, and slow on the boil.

The Reef snags you fairly well with some zolting thrills, and some great bloody kill shots.  However, as a whole, it doesn't keep the suspense up as well as it could.  The shark doesn't enter the picture until the final reel -- not that that's a problem.  The best of thriller/suspense flicks have held off the boogeyman until late in the game.  The suspense bobs about, at times, looking for something to react to.  The floaters have to retrieve this, or quarrel about that, but the ominous music that injects every small moment sorta kills the mood.  I mean, he's swimming after a wake board 30 feet away, for Pete's sake.  It's not that thrilling a moment!

With that said, the character interaction and the final bloody reel, The Reef does do well at upping your blood pressure a few points.  It doesn't sink, but sorta bobs around a bit, and gets fun when a wave comes by every so often.   Just try not to get queasy as you wait.