In one sentence: Rogue is an Australian creature feature that follows a tourist group’s harrowing encounter with a deadly crocodile.

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Creature features vary wildly in quality, but Rogue, from Wolf Creek’s Greg McLean, is one of the best. Its poor box office performance did not reflect its quality. Fortunately over time it has found the audience it always merited.

Released in 2007, Rogue follows travel writer Pete McKell (Michael Vartan), who joins a river tour in the remote Australian outback led by Captain Kate Ryan (Radha Mitchell). She ferries a mixed group of tourists, including a very young Mia Wasikowska, along crocodile-inhabited waters in a small, low boat. Their time is disrupted first by two local troublemakers (one played by Sam Worthington) and then by distress flares spotted in the distance. Against the group’s objections, Kate pulls rank and leads the group further down the river to investigate. Their boat is attacked by a colossal crocodile, leaving them stranded on a shrinking mud island as the tide begins to rise.

What sets Rogue apart from other films in its genre is its plausibility. The threat is grounded in reality. McLean keeps the story simple, focused and believable. This restraint makes the fear lands harder. The film is loosely inspired by ‘Sweetheart’, a giant crocodile known for attacking boats in the Northern Territory in the 1970s.

The movie also becomes an intriguing study of group dynamics under pressure. We watch how ordinary people behave when the situation turns life-or-death. Who keeps calm, who panics, who blames, who steps up? The film trusts that this is engaging enough and it is.

It would be impossible not to mention the breathtaking landscape. Shot on location in Kakadu National Park and surrounding regions, Australian wildlife has never looked so beautiful or lethal.

Rogue was unfortunately released during a period saturated with creature features. The CGI and animatronics still hold up impressively well today and the restraint in showing the crocodile only makes it more frightening. Unsurprisingly, comparisons to Jaws are inevitable. Rogue certainly borrows its monosyllabic title structure, tense music and selective monster reveal strategy.

Overall, Rogue is a tightly paced, genuinely tense horror-thriller with memorable performances and a strong sense of place. It is also a fascinating time capsule of Australian acting talent before Hollywood fame. It is easy to see why the film has developed a cult following and why it deserves one.

★★★★ (4/5)