PopHorror Let's Get Scared
It doesn’t quite feel like summer without a shark movie. Thankfully, I recently checked out THE REEF: STALKED. The film was written and directed by Andrew Traucki (read our interview with him – HERE) as a follow-up to his 2010 film, it stars Teressa Liane (“The Vampire Diaries”), Ann Truong (“Cowboy Bebop”), Saskia Archer (Boshack), Kate Lister (“Clickbait”) and Tim Ross (“Wonderland”).
Synopsis for THE REEF: STALKED
Nic, in an effort to heal after witnessing her sister’s horrific murder, travels to a tropical resort with her friends for a kayaking and diving adventure. Only hours into their expedition, the women are stalked and then attacked by a great white shark. To survive they will need to band together and Nic will have to overcome her post-traumatic stress, face her fears and slay the monster.
Unlike some shark and open water stories, I feel like The Reef: Stalked has more depth, story buildup, and character development throughout the film. This makes more things intense than just another shark film. In the beginning, you see one of the girls going through a horrific domestic abuse and sadly her life is tragically taken away from her. This impacts all the other women greatly, especially her sister, Nic, but each of them trying to cope with the tragedy the best way they know how. Later on as they try to move on with their lives, they meet up for a tropical resort for a kayaking and diving adventures. Not only do they have to face the truth about what happened, but fight to save their lives from a resilient great white shark.
The performances were great and I love a strong female led film. There’s definitely some trauma and tension between them all after the death of their beloved and friend and you can feel their pain. In order to survive, they have to learn to forgive one another, put the past them behind them, and work as a team. The special effects were also great and so was the shark. However, I think some of the best parts of the film was when you didn’t see the shark at all. The intense, quite moments of never knowing when it will strike and who will die next.
If you love intense psychological dramas ad shark films, The Reef: Stalked, is definitely one you should check out. The film is currently available in select theaters, on Digital/VOD, and streaming on Shudder.
