Review of Dark Age

Dark Age (1987)
8/10
Interesting crocodile film, better than some
1 October 2004
Warning: Spoilers
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!
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