CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

SpecialsTarget Disturbing yet enthralling

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

jadavix "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.

Atreyu_II I agree with some reviewers that this is like an Australian version of 'Jaws' with a crocodile instead of a shark, but only to a degree. The basic idea of a monstrous crocodile eating people is similar. There is a scene when a group of children run out of the water in panic, like a scene in 'Jaws' when people run out of the water in panic. There is also a scene when a little boy gets eaten by the crocodile, as in 'Jaws' a little boy gets eaten by the shark.The child getting eaten by the crocodile was the scene that got me the most. It was shocking to see that cute, innocent child crying for help and getting devoured by the big beast. He was almost saved, but the help for him arrived too late. As horrible as the scene is, it is one not to easily forget and certainly the most memorable scene of this movie.This is an awkward movie. Doesn't seem to have a clear focus and soon becomes a different kind of movie, like a number of different movies in the same movie. That is one of the reasons why I rate it so low.Awkwardly too, there is romance (something pointless and unnecessary in a movie like this) and instead of being a target to destroy, the crocodile is spared and saved - something unusual in these "serial killer beasts" films.A very poor film and a very poor attempt to mimic the legendary 'Jaws'.

medic249a2 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!

Bryan H This film was made in Australia and is very hard to find in America, but it is worth watching at least once if you can find it. Basically, it's just an Australian 'JAWS', except that instead of a shark, it's a giant crocodile. The ending is also something to see, because they don't just blow away this magnificent creature as they have in other films of this nature. I won't give away the ending, but it is very interesting. I give it 7.5 out of 10.