This 2010s Survival Horror May Be the Most Effective Shark Thriller Since Jaws

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The shark movie is a category in itself these days, but Stephen Spielberg's groundbreaking 1985 blockbuster, Jaws, transcends genre altogether in that it is simply a masterclass in cinematic storytelling; a cross-continental landmark for Hollywood's golden era, widely appreciated across the globe. So many films have been inspired by its genius, from knowingly over-the-top actioners like Renny Harlin's preposterously fun Deep Blue Sea to quirky left turns such as the late Roger Corman produced, Joe Dante helmed, Piranha. There's no stopping the pantheon.

Sure, films like Great White and The Shallows are mostly entertaining spectacles, but oftentimes, realism is surrendered in favor of the deliverance of brutal thrills. That's what makes the 2010 Australian thriller, The Reef, stand out. It's an authentically scary exercise in primal terror because of its emphasis on genuine suspense and realism, resulting in one of the best shark movies to break water since Brody told us we needed a bigger boat.

'The Reef' Was Inspired by a True Story

As if it weren't already terrifying enough, The Reef is at least partially inspired by a true story. The real-life incident reportedly took place in the '80s and involved a shipwreck's sole survivor being rescued from the ocean after his fellow crew members were purportedly taken by a shark. While Jaws is based on Peter Benchley's novel, it seems Traucki's foray into shark-infested waters was the result of this frightening slice of life. Of course, events are made considerably more complex and dramatic for the movie's sake, but a gripping faithfulness to realism remains intact, with some stunning underwater photography employed to great effect once the shark does arrive on-screen.

And much like Jaws, it does take a while for the aquatic tormentor to make its first unobstructed appearance at the film's midpoint or thereabouts, while the buildup is all expertly calibrated suspense. Matt (Gyton Gantley), his sister Kate (Zoe Naylor), and his partner Suzie (Adrienne Pickering) travel to Queensland to join Matt's friend, Luke (Damian Walshe-Howling), on a sailing trip to Indonesia to drop off a yacht. Luke and Kate are former flames with residual feelings still simmering despite subtle resistance and reservation from both sides. There are some key moments where said flame flickers, including a brief interlude where the group sets off to a picturesque island well before trouble strikes. All the actors hit the right notes in the lead-up to the film's most seismic event and Traucki demonstrates quickly that he is invested in character and the human angle as much as he is with the horror of being hunted.

Ultimately, The Reef works because it teases the audience into a state of wound-up expectation. The nerves are on high alert well before the first strike, and the intensity refuses to relent as the film dashes through its third act. Once the sailing boat capsizes following a collision with a protruding reef, the four protagonists, minus the wary sailor Warren (Kieran Darcy Smith), who stays behind, decide to try their luck on the open seas, heading for an island that, as Kate notes, they "can't see." Equipped with the knowledge that it's their best shot at survival, with the sun unforgiving and the water supply dwindling, the posse venture forth, sliced-up boogie boards in tow for flotation. There are encounters with mutilated turtles and terrified schools of fish before the sizable Great White is officially encountered, and the foreshadowing is extreme.

'The Reef' Is Just as Much About the Characters as It Is the Shark

From there, it's a chase movie out at sea, and despite the steady efforts of Luke to calm the group, the paralyzing situational terror is captured with devastating aplomb. The first attack is shudder-inducing, the disappearance and subsequent reemergence routine of the shark particularly well-handled. The Reef, while sharing similarities with something like Open Water, is superior because it is more eventful (viscerally speaking) and it contains greater heft.

Each one of the main players is afforded substantial time to demonstrate who they are and whom they care about, which subsequently renders the on-screen drama wrenching and the fear factor forceful. Traucki is adept at capturing the hectic helplessness of being completely at the mercy of nature's most unconquerable elements. Still, through it all, his movies are also linked by characters who've been through some things. There is already a subtext or a subplot lurking beneath the surface before terror strikes, and that's what gives The Reef its edge. That and the fact that the fusion of underwater footage and effectively quickfire effects make the experience completely unsettling and, at times, harrowing.

Come 2025 it'll be 50 years since Spielberg's Jaws forever changed the film-going landscape (or seascape), and the pantheon of oceanic thrillers that have followed since its release have continued to variably enthrall audiences jonesing for shark-generated terror. As seminal as Psycho was to the horror genre at large, Jaws casts an imposing, 25ft shadow. When the formula is well-executed, the conceit still delivers, and The Reef succeeds in being one of the strongest shark flicks around. Its well-spaced scares and gnarly suspense help engender an illusion that all is unfolding, chillingly, in real time.