(2005, Thailand)
A warning to the curious...
In Thailand, they're still trying to rip off JAWS. This movie supposedly recounts the true story of a giant croc that went on a killing spree in the 1960's. First picking on a few isolated villagers deep in the rainforest, the croc went on to defy the best efforts of both holy men and the police force.
The publicity departments delivers some great posters, but while it may be a good idea to make a low-budget monster movie to cut your movie-making teeth on - just don't let anybody see it until you've got something good.
THE BRUTAL RIVER is nicely shot, but completely lacking in suspense or excitement. Even during the 'action' scenes, there's a feeling that the story is treading water. For example, a man gets bitten by the croc - he thrashes around, people look horrified, he thrashes some more, no-one does anything, he keeps thrashing... The scene just doesn't develop. Cross-cutting between victim and monster isn't telling a story, it's more like watching tennis.
The characters and story are really basic: for example, how to establish a love story? - let's have a love song! Most of the cast only need to look scared, horrified, or scream in agony (at something offscreen). Okay, there's a little gore, lots of poor computer-generated monster croc, and no plot twists. I dare anyone to watch this without skipping forwards.
If anything, this is an excellent lesson in how not to make a monster movie. A few shots are copied from JAWS, but this only reminded me that I really should watch JAWS again.
So please, if you think you'll like this monster croc, please watch JAWS, JAWS 2, GRIZZLY, ALLIGATOR and PIRANHA first. Then and only then, watch THE BRUTAL RIVER.
The DVD hasn't surfaced in many countries as yet. You'll need to go shopping in Sweden or Thailand to bag a copy!
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