Saw this at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival 2019 (BIFFF for intimates). Remarkable how the film makers succeeded in filling one and a half hour running time with just a seemingly simplistic situational plot. Impossible at first sight, but they did it. It was not super-tense all the time, but there were ample unexpected developments to keep us alive. A bit of humour was included, also a bit of romance mixed with marital problems (even a row about an abortion in such dire circumstances). There is no limit to the number of mishaps and stupidities included in this movie, but without these we would have had no story and thus no movie with several tense scenes, unexpected twists and surprising developments.
I'm at a loss why the crocodile was not threatening all the time. It may be the nature of the beast, e.g. sleeping when its stomach is filled. A very unexpected development was that the crocodile even laid some eggs (it was a female one, the twosome deduced), coming in very handy when being stuck in the pool for three days already. Yet a dangerous thing to do, as the crocodile was not very happy when she could not find her eggs back, hence not prepared to be lenient.
The script also succeeded in giving an important role to dog Lucky a few times. Its action were not always in their advantage, but he still was very present some of the time, despite being outside the pool and with an unbridgeable distance between the dog and the twosome in the deep. Shouting to a dog and telling him what to do, does not always have the desired effect.
If on a quest to find an illustration of the saying that Limitation Reveals The Master, don't look any further. This movie has it all: less than a handful of protagonists, a confined stage for the players, only a few props, all of this assembled in a very simplistic decor. The crocodile may very well be the costliest item on the set, as it looked very convincing and alive, apparently not a DIY product.
All in all, though obviously an example of one-off entertainment, this movie is well made and included a lot of original ideas. Its synopsis may look uninviting upfront, but don't that let mislead you when deciding to book tickets for it. See for yourself who (if any) will survive.
I'm at a loss why the crocodile was not threatening all the time. It may be the nature of the beast, e.g. sleeping when its stomach is filled. A very unexpected development was that the crocodile even laid some eggs (it was a female one, the twosome deduced), coming in very handy when being stuck in the pool for three days already. Yet a dangerous thing to do, as the crocodile was not very happy when she could not find her eggs back, hence not prepared to be lenient.
The script also succeeded in giving an important role to dog Lucky a few times. Its action were not always in their advantage, but he still was very present some of the time, despite being outside the pool and with an unbridgeable distance between the dog and the twosome in the deep. Shouting to a dog and telling him what to do, does not always have the desired effect.
If on a quest to find an illustration of the saying that Limitation Reveals The Master, don't look any further. This movie has it all: less than a handful of protagonists, a confined stage for the players, only a few props, all of this assembled in a very simplistic decor. The crocodile may very well be the costliest item on the set, as it looked very convincing and alive, apparently not a DIY product.
All in all, though obviously an example of one-off entertainment, this movie is well made and included a lot of original ideas. Its synopsis may look uninviting upfront, but don't that let mislead you when deciding to book tickets for it. See for yourself who (if any) will survive.