Dark Age

source: Dark Age

"Dark Age" is a thoroughly enjoyable monster movie with an environmentalist twist. It paints some of its strokes a little broadly, but just when it seems to be settling into an entirely predictable formula, it still has tricks up its sleeve. This monster movie is basically a cautionary tale, but for once, it's not about the hazards of radiation creating mutated (read: bigger) deadly creatures. You see, crocodiles come so big and so dangerous in Outback Australia that there is no need for science fiction. Rather, the story is about white Australia not paying heed to the customs, and warnings, of Aboriginal people. Aborigines had (and in some places, still have) a traditional way of life based on respect for living things. The "numanwari" - a giant fresh-water crocodile - is penance for our sins against nature. The movie features one killing that I doubt many will see coming, and many more will switch off afterwards. It's not often you can't believe your eyes in a horror movie. Strange to say, then, that the movie also features well worn territory, like the stuffy big wig from the city with no concept of the threat he is working with because he is too busy pushing pens around, so he requires the handsome country boy - a very pre-"Wolf Creek" John Jarratt - to agree to take all responsibility. That character is such a cliché I was glad he was given short shrift. More convincing was one of our best character actors, Max Phipps (RIP), as a brutal redneck out for crocodilian blood. David Gulpilil, another national treasure, benefits the movie through his presence, but there is also an Aboriginal elder - Burnam Burnam - who, of course, provides the dire and unheeded warnings. I'm not entirely sure what I think of his performance. He speaks a strange broken English, made all the more strange by the fact that the actor appears to know better speech. It sounds forced. While it's true that Aboriginal Australians, especially those from remote areas, have a distinct patois that may sound alien to other English speakers, I'm unconvinced that there are many who speak as he does. All up, "Dark Age" is one of those movies that you can easily pick at for its silliness, or be impressed at for its bravery and inventiveness. It can just as easily be called a cliché-fest as a horror movie that goes where few others have. Which movie you watch and respond to will be up to you.

Dark Age (1987) *** (out of 4) The setting is the Australian outback where a twenty-five foot crocodile begins attacking and killing people. Steve Harris (John Jarratt) is a park ranger who has been trying to get people involved in a protection plan for the crocs but now with the help of two guides he must try and track down the large creature. Where has DARK AGE been all of my life? I love the various creature features that followed the success of JAWS and there have been several that had crocodiles running loose killing people. This one here is certainly one of the better ones and in all honesty I'm a little shocked that the film isn't better known. After going through some of the extras on the disc I learned that the film never got a theatrical release and it pretty much sunk onto video shelves and never made much of an impact. That's really too bad because this works perfectly as a killer crocodile movie but also as an Ozploitation picture. The Australian outback makes for a terrific location and we get some beautiful views of the wetlands. I thought the film really played the location up nicely and it was great getting to see the characters go through these various areas. It just adds a level of suspense to the picture when you feel and believe the setting your watching (aka not being shot in a studio soundstage). What makes the film so entertaining is that the director was willing to have anything happen. That means you've got attacks on countless adults and even children are at risk! The movie really didn't play any games as this was a killing machine and the attack sequences were quite good. It was clear that they were dealing with a fake crocodile in several scenes but this didn't take away from the entertainment value. I'd also argue that Jarratt was very good in the lead role and helped carry the film. Some of the non-croc stuff isn't quite as entertaining but if you're a fan of these types of movies then DARK AGE is certainly a must see.

I saw this movie in 1992 when I stumbled across it in a video store. It is definitely worth having a look because it's hard to find. Having been to the country in which it was set - Australia - and seen plenty of Saltwater Crocodiles, it's somewhat realistic too. ***SPOILER WARNING*** In Australia's Northern Territory, a land of billabongs (waterholes), swamps, and rivers, a titanic-sized Saltwater Crocodile is killing people at an alarming rate. The state government enlists the help of a hunter (John Jarratt) to hunt down & kill the crocodile. But the local Aborigines believe that this particular croc contains the spirit of their past, and want the animal preserved, despite its continued killing of people. Eventually the huntsman comes up with a solution. He decides to trap the giant beast and have it relocated, so it will no longer trouble people. The Aborigines, one of whom is played by David Gulpilil (from 'Crocodile Dundee' - he played Paul Hogan's friend Neville Bill) go with the hunter into the swamps to find the crocodile before it kills again... ***END SPOILERS*** This one is close to being on a par with 1981's Alligator (dir. Lewis Teague). The crocodile himself is fairly convincing, having seen a crocodile of comparable size myself. The movie is based on Graeme Webb's novel 'Numunwari'. Webb is an authority on saltwater crocodiles; this story bears some resemblance to a pair of incidents in Australia's Alligator River in the early 80's when an Aboriginal woman and and a man were killed by a huge saltwater crocodile. After the first attack, just like in the movie, the Aborigines of the area did not want the crocodile killed. Although their wishes were respected, the following year the second attack took place - and the same huge crocodile was suspected. As this is very hard to find I would recommend getting it if you do find it!

One of the WORST movies I've ever seen, and certainly primarily because of some of the WORST acting I've ever seen by John Jarrett. Please, for your own safety, avoid this movie at all costs.

A giant salt water crocodile, known as Numunwari by the aboriginal people, is feasting on unwary locals in Northern Australia. Wildlife ranger Steve Harris (John Jarratt) sets out to capture the toothy terror and return it to the billabong it calls home. Dark Age is a routine creature feature that, like so many others, takes its lead from Spielberg's Jaws and delivers countless clichés along the way: a group of ignorant hunters who anger the croc, an innocent kid snatched from shallow water, an ignorant official concerned about how the rampaging reptile will affect tourism, and a final showdown between three brave men and the croc. The biggest cliché of all, however, is the rose-tinted representation of the indigenous people as peaceful, noble, wise, spiritual and in tune with their surroundings, just like the Native American in every revisionist western since 1970 (the movie thereby seeking to recompense for years of oppression by the white man). The film trundles along at a reasonable pace, and there are a couple of half-decent animal attacks (accompanied by suitably sickening bone-crunching sound effects), but for the most part this is unexceptional stuff, not helped by the fact that the croc is rarely seen and, when it does appear, it's a rather inanimate fibreglass model. While this 'less is more' approach worked for Jaws, director Arch Nicholson isn't in Spielberg's league, unable to generate the necessary tension and excitement; likewise, the film's cast cannot hold a candle to the likes of Scheider, Shaw and Dreyfuss, their characters instantly forgettable. Still, at least this one has a gratuitous sex scene (featuring the lovely Nikki Coghill) and features the wholesale slaughter of innocent reptiles. Spielberg never gave us that! N.B. Twenty years after starring in Dark Age, John Jarratt would appear in Rogue, another film about a killer croc.

Since watching Mark Hartley's tremendous documentary Not Quite Hollywood,I've been keeping my eyes open for any "lost" Ozploitation films.My search eventually led to me finding this film,and with having heard in Hartley's film,that due to the film having spent the past few decades in legal troubles, and the chance of it ever getting a "legit" release being very low,I decided that this was an Ozploitation film that I had to snap up right away... The plot: Travelling up a river,that is near by a small town,where a community of indigenous Australians live,a group of hunters cant believe their eyes,when they catch a glimpse of the largest crocodile that any of them have seen in their lives!.Realiseing that cacheting the huge croc would bring in a huge amount of cash,the hunters rush to get hold of their guns.Suddenly,from out of nowhere,the crocodile appears from behind their small boat,and completely tears the boat,and the hunters apart.As the crocodile starts to make a list of victims, (with a young child being the latest one to join the list) local police officer Steve Harris is called in to stop the crocs murderous rampage.Visiting the near-by indigenous community,Harris is told that they will not allow the crocodile to be killed,due to it being a "dreaming" crocodile,which has been in the river for as long as anyone can remember.With all of the newspaper headlines,that the croc has grabbed,a group of publicity hungry hunters decide that they will be the ones to bring the beast to shore.With Steve realising that he is running out of time,and that his boss and on/off girlfriend are telling him that he must kill the crocodile right now,Harris chooses to ignore their ideas,and instead do his own thing,which he hopes will keep the beast safe for the indigenous people,whilst also stopping its rampage dead in the water. View on the film: Whilst it is very easy to see the problems that the cast and crew had with the fake Croc in the film, (which in Not Quite Hollywood,is reported to have constantly broken down during the shoot!)director Arch Nicholson never lets these disadvantages come in the way of him creating a wild log flume ride of a film.For the scenes in the river,where everyone is looking for the murdering Croc,Nicholson gives them an excellent swamp feeling,that makes the moments when the crocodile appears to grab its next victims to be something very special.Along with the river action,Nicholson keeps the action on land moving at a rapid pace,with the scenes where Sam is meeting the indigenous people being a terrific clash of cultures.due to Sam looking stunned,when the tribe start to tell tales about the wonderful "dreaming croc,who is only going around eating people because it just wants to be filled with tucker!)Looking at the constantly entertaining screenplay by Sonia Borg and Stephen Cross,(adapted from a novel by Graham Webb)I was initially disappointed that the film was taking its time,and not just jumping straight to the action.But as the film went on,I realised the this was actually a good move by Borg and Webb,since it got the stunning action/chase scenes to fit smoothly into the rest of this fantastic film,and made sure that they weren't a separate entity. Final view on the film: A fantastic "genre" film,packed with a terrific mix of action/adventure,comedy and a good amount of "Creature-Horror",which ends up making this film,a sadly forgotten,must see Ozploitation.

A giant crocodile is killing and eating river poachers and small kids from the river banks.John Jarratt of "Wolf Creek" fame plays park ranger who is a big protector of crocodiles as well.The local aborigines see this bloodthirsty crocodile as a sacred reptile called "Numunwari" and they want to transfer the beast to its proper upriver.Arch Nicholson's "Dark Age" is a well-made and suspenseful animal attack flick which owes a lot to "Jaws".The killing of small aboriginal kid is quite shocking with its unexpected brutality.The croc itself looks realistic and menacing enough and the attack scenes are surprisingly vicious.The film is also rich in aboriginal myths and symbolism as it poses few important environmental questions.Can't wait to see Arch Nicholson's "Fortress".8 crocs out of 10.

The main reaction this film about a giant crocodile terrorising Australia elicited from me was "OMG, IT'S ALF FROM HOME AND AWAY!!". Aside from that, the strange thing about it is the highest level of suspense isn't the huge reptile stalking and killing it's human prey, but the final chase as some well-meaning conservationists try to drive it to a secluded breeding spot away from a gang of yahoo hunters who want to turn it into luggage. My sympathies lay with the 'monster' 100%. The film kind of washes over you in an unpretentious way... don't expect a frightfest along the lines of Jaws, and even the music is cheap 80's synch. But it's nice to see Aboriginal culture represented so positively and informatively on screen, with a couple of them even giving more than passable performances in starring roles. Could the next big superstar from Down Under come from there? Don't bet against it... 5/10

This movie essentially begins with 3 poachers in the Australian Outback taking a small boat into a lake at night to hunt crocodiles. Although they manage to kill the first two they come across, the third crocodile is much larger than anything they have ever seen and it capsizes the boat and kills two of them. This results in a park ranger named "Steve Harris" (John Jarratt) taking two aborigines in a boat to find it. Unfortunately, tracking it down becomes much harder than he suspects and if that wasn't bad enough local politics and prejudice hamper his efforts even more. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this movie had a pretty good premise to operate from but I thought that the director (Arch Nicholson) got a bit carried away with the clash of cultures between the whites and the aborigines which seemed to permeate the entire course of the movie. Likewise, proscribing some kind of spiritual mystique on the large crocodile was somewhat cheesy as well. That being said, I have rated this film accordingly. Slightly below average.