Pitting man against one of the world's most feared predators is a smart move by any filmmaker wanting to make a quality "survival horror" film.

And that’s exactly what Australian directors Andrew Traucki and David Nerlich have done with their low-budget debut Black Water.

Based on a true story, Black Water is an edge-of-your-seat horror about Grace (Diana Glen – Neighbours, The Secret Life Of Us and Oyster Farm) her boyfriend Adam (Andy Rodoreda) and younger sister Lee (Maeve Dermody), who set out on a fishing trip while holidaying in the Northern Territory.

But the excursion quickly goes horribly wrong when a monster crocodile attacks the boat, eating Jim the tour guide (played by Aussie comedian Ben Oxenbould) and leaving the trio stranded up a crooked mangrove tree in a remote tributary.

It then becomes a story of survival as the scared, bickering threesome work out ways to escape the prowling predator below.

Before you even start watching this film, recent low-budget survival horror flicks about menacing, killing machines such as Open Water (2003) and particularly last year’s Rogue spring to mind.

Despite the obvious crocodile links to Rogue, Black Water shows more similarities to Open Water with one primary setting, minimal characters and a circling beast keeping them at bay.

Because of money and time constraints, Andrew Traucki and David Nerlich shot the film in a mangrove near their native Sydney and used cheap digital technology to fuse footage of real crocs for the more dramatic scenes.

But they were still able to capture the real fear humans would feel being stalked by such a predator thanks to some solid performances by the entire cast and the realistic decisions they would make given this difficult and rather intriguing situation.

Black Water is a real triumph considering the financial hurdles and time constraints the directors reportedly faced making the film.

It’s also proof you don’t need a massive squillion dollar budget, a plethora of stars and an entire CGI team to make a quality movie.

You just need a good, well-written story and that’s exactly what Black Water is.

The movie Black Water is rated * * * 1/2, rated MA15+ and is currently screening at Birch Carroll & Coyle.

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