I have never been attacked by a crocodile, nor have I been trapped in a cave system that is slowly filling up with water. That's because I am not completely stupid, unlike the characters in Black Water: Abyss. Despite a storm fast approaching, five friends decide to go spelunking in a remote part of Northern Australia, without telling anyone where they are going; the idiots also pay no heed to the fact that tourists have recently gone missing in the area. Crawling through a network of tunnels without recording their progress, the morons arrive in a waterlogged cavern, which becomes flooded when a nearby river bursts its banks. There's also the small issue of the very hungry croc that has made the cave its home...
I can't imagine that the budget for this sequel was particularly big, which is probably why the croc remains hidden for most of the time, lurking under the surface of the murky water. This hidden threat actually works in the film's favour: had director Andrew Traucki decided to show us more of his scaly menace, he would have had to resort to more of the lousy CGI that spoils the final act, when the croc is seen in all of its laughable 'glory'. Knowing that something nasty is under the water is enough to keep the level of suspense high -- less is definitely more when you don't have the cash for top-notch effects -- and Traucki makes the most of his claustrophobic setting with some tense underwater scenes.
Of course, with the croc out of sight for much of the time, the plot requires some padding, and in this case it's that hoary old cliché of relationship issues, with infidelity amongst the group. It doesn't really add much to the movie, except for making it okay when the cheating boyfriend is snapped up by the croc, although the equally deceitful girl in the situation is given a free pass.
In the very dumb final act, the two surviving women manage to escape the cave via a very convenient 'plug hole' that leads to the outside, but must do battle with the croc one more time when they stupidly crash their car into the river while driving away. Did I mention that they're not all that smart?
4.5/10, generously rounded up to 5 for IMDb.
I can't imagine that the budget for this sequel was particularly big, which is probably why the croc remains hidden for most of the time, lurking under the surface of the murky water. This hidden threat actually works in the film's favour: had director Andrew Traucki decided to show us more of his scaly menace, he would have had to resort to more of the lousy CGI that spoils the final act, when the croc is seen in all of its laughable 'glory'. Knowing that something nasty is under the water is enough to keep the level of suspense high -- less is definitely more when you don't have the cash for top-notch effects -- and Traucki makes the most of his claustrophobic setting with some tense underwater scenes.
Of course, with the croc out of sight for much of the time, the plot requires some padding, and in this case it's that hoary old cliché of relationship issues, with infidelity amongst the group. It doesn't really add much to the movie, except for making it okay when the cheating boyfriend is snapped up by the croc, although the equally deceitful girl in the situation is given a free pass.
In the very dumb final act, the two surviving women manage to escape the cave via a very convenient 'plug hole' that leads to the outside, but must do battle with the croc one more time when they stupidly crash their car into the river while driving away. Did I mention that they're not all that smart?
4.5/10, generously rounded up to 5 for IMDb.