Rogue (2007)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Greg Mclean

Writer:

Greg Mclean (writer)

Release Date:

8 November 2007 (Australia)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Welcome to the Terrortory

Plot:

An American journalist on assignment in the Australian outback encounters a man-eating crocodile.

Plot Keywords:

Tour Boat | Remote Island | Arm Ripped Off | Island | Corpse

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Radha Mitchell	...	Kate Ryan
Michael Vartan	...	Pete McKell
Sam Worthington	...	Neil Kelly
Caroline Brazier	...	Mary Ellen
Stephen Curry	...	Simon
Celia Ireland	...	Gwen
John Jarratt	...	Russell
Heather Mitchell	...	Elizabeth
Geoff Morrell	...	Allen
Damien Richardson	...	Collin
Robert Taylor	...	Everett Kennedy
Mia Wasikowska	...	Sherry
Barry Otto	...	Merv

Directed by
Greg Mclean

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Greg Mclean		writer

Produced by
Matt Hearn	....	producer
David Lightfoot	....	producer
Greg Mclean	....	producer
Bob Weinstein	....	executive producer
Harvey Weinstein	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Will Gibson

Film Editing by
Jason Ballantine

Casting by
Angela Heesom
Venus Kanani
Mary Vernieu

Production Design by
Robert Webb

Art Direction by
Lucinda Thomson

Makeup Department
Mark Cleary	....	creature effects
Tina Gordon	....	makeup artist
Jennifer Lamphee	....	hair stylist
Jennifer Lamphee	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Ayisha Davies	....	production manager: second unit
Mark 'Sharky' Johnson	....	unit manager
Sue Wild	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marshall Crosby	....	first assistant director
Todd Embling	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Ben Barber	....	props buyer
Ben Barber	....	set dresser
Steven Carroll	....	prop sculptor
Ben Corless	....	construction manager
Justin Dix	....	head sculptor
Jennifer Donaldson	....	set designer
Alar Hordern	....	greens foreman
Peter Hordern	....	head greensman
Les Landon	....	stand-by greensman
Andy Robinson	....	scenic artist
Tuesday Stone	....	art department assistant
Scott Young	....	assistant sculptor

Sound Department
Craig Carter	....	sound designer
Alan Freedman	....	adr mixer: Los Angeles
Chris Goodes	....	adr mixer
Jason Hancock	....	foley recordist
James Harvey	....	adr editor
Tom Heuzenroeder	....	sound editor
Des Keneally	....	sound recordist
Liam Price	....	foley recordist
John Simpson	....	foley artist
Peter D. Smith	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Don Brooker	....	sculptor: John Cox's Creature Workshop
John Cox	....	animatronics supervisor: John Cox's creature Workshop
Tobias Jahke	....	ceature effects crew
Lee O'Shaughnessy	....	stunt team
Ali Pearce	....	special effects technician
Brian Pearce	....	special effects supervisor
Cassie Pearce	....	special effects technician
Michael Plummer	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Dan Ashton	....	film recording technician: Weta Digital
Jason Bath	....	visual effects producer
Jason Billington	....	compositor: Fuel International
Marten Blumen	....	digital compositor
Nick Booth	....	film recording supervisor: Weta Digital
Kent Boswell	....	visual effects producer: Fuel
Romain Buignet	....	digital effects artist
Luke Cole	....	systems administrator: FUEL International
Sam Cole	....	senior compositor: FUEL
Nicholas Cross	....	CG environments
Dexter Davey	....	digital compositor
Chris Davies	....	digital compositor
Rahul Deshprabhu	....	effects & lighting technical director
Mark Dickson	....	digital rig/wire removal
Stéphanie Dubé	....	creature texture painter
Kane Elferink	....	CG environments
Lianne Forbes	....	camera tracking supervisor
Amelia Ford	....	visual effects editor
Matt Greig	....	digital compositor
Belinda Griffiths	....	3D surface artist
Belinda Griffiths	....	matte painter
Kate Hagar	....	on-set visual effects coordinator
David Hampton	....	film recording technician: Weta Digital
Andrew Hellen	....	visual effects supervisor
Christian Liliedahl	....	animator
Grant Lovering	....	digital compositor
Olivia Lyne	....	visual effects coordinator
Roy Malhi	....	effects animator
Dave Morley	....	visual effects supervisor
An Nguyen	....	system administrator/pipeline engineer: FUEL International
Pawel Olas	....	digital artist
Michael Orbing	....	modeler
Nicole Papax	....	matte painter
Dylan Penhale	....	systems administrator
Marty Pepper	....	colourist
Marty Pepper	....	visual effects compositor
Richard Pritchard	....	digital matte painter
Richard Pritchard	....	surfacing artist
Craig Rowe	....	digital compositor
Murray Smallwood	....	digital compositor
David J. Smith	....	lead animator
Tim Sotiri	....	visual effects artist: FUEL International
Francois Sugny	....	senior 3D programmer
Damien Thaller	....	matte painter
Anders Thonell	....	3D supervisor
Ray Van Steenwyk	....	lead animator
Grant Warwick	....	modeler
Pete Williams	....	film recording manager: Weta Digital
Matthew Wynne	....	digital compositor
Koji Yamaguchi	....	compositor

Stunts
Nash Edgerton	....	stunt double: Michael Vartan
Zev Eleftheriou	....	stunt coordinator
Amanda Graver	....	stunts
Jon Kralt	....	stunt rider
Siros Niaros	....	stunt rigger

Camera and Electrical Department
Craig Dusting	....	key grip
Karl Engeler	....	gaffer
Anthony Gerrish	....	second grip
Adrian Goodwin	....	fourth grip
John Le Roy	....	key rigging grip: reshoot
Henare Mato	....	rigging gaffer
Darren McAngus	....	additional grip
Jody Muston	....	first assistant camera
Jacko Panagiotou	....	third grip
Ruru Reedy	....	electrician
Justin Rodski	....	video split operator
Natalie van den Dungen	....	second assistant camera
Anthony Veith	....	best boy

Animation Department
Gary Hebert	....	title animator
Paul Lada	....	animator

Casting Department
Julie Lewington	....	casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Laurel Morgan	....	costumer
Polly Smyth	....	costume stand-by

Editorial Department
Amelia Ford	....	first assistant editor

Other crew
Cassandra Barbour	....	rights and clearances
Manuel Caracciolo	....	production assistant
Mason Curtis	....	location manager
Jane Forbes	....	script supervisor
Alex Franklin	....	development executive
Robyn Good	....	island construction supplier
Tiny Good	....	diver
Tiny Good	....	head scaffolder
Tiny Good	....	island construction supplier
Michael Ienna	....	stand-in
Nick Jeffrey	....	assistant accountant
Nate Jones	....	assistant: Ms. Mitchell
Rosemary Lara	....	manager of production: Lions Gate Film
Julie Lewington	....	production coordinator
Andrew Lindley	....	payroll accountant
Robert M. Melnik	....	executive vice president of business affairs
Joe Pampanella	....	safety supervisor
James Paul	....	puppet animatronic technician
Laura Sevier	....	rights and clearances
Amanda Shamis	....	business affairs coordinator
Robbie Simons	....	production assistant
Monika Stankowski	....	assistant accountant
Aaron Sterns	....	script editor
Trudy Talbot	....	financial controller

Production Companies

• De Naray Sothcott Entertainment
• Dimension Films
• Emu Creek Pictures
• Village Roadshow Pictures

Distributors

• Atlantic Film (2008) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Cinestar (2008) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Dimension Extreme (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Distribution Company (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Entertainment (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Medyavizyon (2007) (Turkey) (all media)
• Odeon (2007) (Cyprus) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2007) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Roadshow Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Third Rail Releasing (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• West Video (2008) (Russia) (all media)

Special Effects

• Fuel International (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Angela Heesom Casting  casting
• Entertainment Clearances  rights and clearances
• Film Victoria  filmed with the assistance of
• Melbourne Film Office  filmed with the assistance of
• Motion Picture Lighting  lighting
• Oasis Post Australia  post-production
• Resin  visual effects
• Showtech Australia  scaffolding
• Showtech Australia  underwater island construction
• Soundfirm  sound re-recording

Also Known As:

Rogue Crocodile (Singapore: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some creature violence.

Runtime:

99 min | Germany:89 min

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | Hong Kong:IIB | New Zealand:M | USA:Unrated (DVD rating) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Malaysia:U

Filming Locations:

Maidstone, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

De Naray Sothcott Entertainment

Trivia:

The croc's lair was constructed and shot in a warehouse in Maidstone (Melbourne Victoria Australia) which was the same site for much of internal barn shots in Charlottes Web (2006). With story set in the rugged Northern Territory and much of the shooting done there also many would be surprised to learn that many of the "island" shots were done in a man made lake in country Victoria. The art department and the greens department being responsible for making the rocks and trees resemble those in the Territory.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the scene when Pete is walking through the forest during the early hours of the morning, the sunlight is coming from directly above him as seen by the shadows beneath him and the plants around him.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Pete McKell: Hot as hell out there, huh?

Movie Connections:

References The African Queen (1951)

CRIKEY!!! -- This Croc has bite!

Granted, it's not perfect, and the idea is not 100% original (from a cinematic point of view) but one thing I love about Greg McLean's films is that he takes what are essentially Australian icons and flips them totally askew. For instance in Wolf Creek the films brutal killer - Mick Taylor is basically Mick Dundee turned psycho. And in Rogue, he yet again takes a well known Australian reptile and sets it loose on some unsuspecting tourists.

There's no denying McLean can shoot a beautiful movie, and some of the wonderful scenes of the Australian top-end are simply stunning. The characters all portray strong performances, especially when the pressure sets in and they begin to crack. McLean also does a good job at drip feeding the dread and teasing the audience with nothing but growls, grunts and slippery tails. It's an age old formula where directors don't show the full extent of the threat till the end - well, thankfully we don't have to wait that long, as when the croc does reveal itself - we see that it is frickin'MASSIVE! And what's even more scary is that these thing's actually exist up there.

The croc itself is naturally CGI with some animatronics, and it's a relief to see that it looks "real". The movement and animation is authentic and the sound design is also effective in giving the audience that jolted feeling a 3 tonne croc would give.

It's a tense, taught and well directed film, and the only gripe I have about it is that it seems a little short - maybe that was put down the fact that I was so immersed into the film? But it did feel a little short. It also lacked the brutal punch Wolf Creek gave us back in 2005, but never the less, it's a cute little Aussie horror thriller where McLean pays sound homage to classics like Jaws and Aliens. And it's also good to see more "genre" films like this coming out of Australia, and it's also good to know people like the Weinsteins and Warner Brothers are backing horror films from Australia for international releases and distribution.

For anyone into their Reptillian chills and thrills - I highly recommend ROGUE.