MovieChat Forums > Black Water (2008) Discussion > based on true events...?

based on true events...?


so there's again a croc movie based on true events...
does anyone now in how far what happened in the movie was true? is there an actual incident??
.. i hope it's not again just "inspired by true events"... like.. "oh yes, people got attacked by a crocodile in australia once"... :)


i did actually like it a lot... creepy atmosphere. i give it a 7/10.. :)

reply

Well there was an incident back in 2003 when 3 guys in australia just went swimming and were attacked by a saltwater crocodile. One of the guys was pulled underwater and basically disappeared while the other two climbed onto a tree. The crocodile then resurfaced and pretty much "showed off" their dead friend in its jaws. It continued to stalk the two till early morning when, after 22 hours they were finally rescued.

So yeah, crocodile chasing people on tree and then stalking them happened but the rest is very much movie dramatization.

reply


interesting, i thought the movie was decent enough
______________________
What about a Giant Midget? He'd be about 5'11". Totally dangerous.

reply


It's pretty much based on several incidents of Estuaurine /Salt-Water Crocodile attacks here (ie Oz) over the past 15 years or so- it's rare, but it does happen- usually to people who don't know not to go swimming in billabongs, lakes etc. Of course, the likelihood of something like BLACK WATER or ROGUE happening nowadays is decreasing, as our government still insists on removing large Crocs in the wild to zoos etc for "the public good" even when the croc in question is just minding its own business...

reply

I've seen a couple of 5 metre crocs out there in the NT, pretty scary if you ask me... and how can you remove them from the big rivers and estuaries as they're all connected somehow?

reply

A crocodile does not act like this. This movie was so stupid. If a crocodile eats a man it will not be hugry nearly for a week and it will not attack unless provoked in that case. Also crocodiles eat whatever they hunt, they do not preserve food.Also they do not breathe under water and goes under water only for attacking. They should be seeing it over the tree all around.

reply

>If a crocodile eats a man it will not be hungry nearly for a week and it will not attack unless provoked in that case.

You mean like provoked by people entering it's territory? Like in the movie?

>Also crocodiles eat whatever they hunt, they do not preserve food

Yeah they'd probably eat a bit of a guy right away then if they were full maybe leave a bit for later, like in the movie.

>Also they do not breathe under water and goes under water only for attacking.

Right. Like in the movie.

>They should be seeing it over the tree all around.

We guess you don't really mean it climbs trees, or can fly. So you think it would just float around where they can see it? Hey look at me I'm going to eat you. I guess if I was sizing you up as prey or threat, I'd do it out in the open where you could see me, for sure.

reply

>>You mean like provoked by people entering it's territory? Like in the movie?
Think more, some very stupid person sneaking up on/approaching a crocodile and jumping on it/poking it w/a stick. Other living creatures simply "in its territory" aren't enough to make a full crocodile chase it off/hunt it down under most circumstances.

>Also crocodiles eat whatever they hunt, they do not preserve food
>>Yeah they'd probably eat a bit of a guy right away then if they were full maybe leave a bit for later, like in the movie.
I think what tanerb was trying to get across was that the crocodile (after it spent a bunch of energy to make a kill & in this case flip a boat) wouldn't say, oh, let's go spend MORE energy to go kill some more food (that I can't eat right now b/c I'm full for a week anyway) instead of sticking around my little meat pile here.

>Also they do not breathe under water and goes under water only for attacking. They should be seeing it over the tree all around.
>>So you think it would just float around where they can see it? Hey look at me I'm going to eat you. I guess if I was sizing you up as prey or threat, I'd do it out in the open where you could see me, for sure.
Realistically speaking, we didn't see the croc just waiting around above water nearly as much as we should have if it was hanging around that tree as much as the movie implied. The way a crocodile hunts involves either sighting it (above water b/c crocs can't focus well under water), or smelling it. The croc then submerges when it's heading toward the prey so as not be be seen above the water's surface (but it DOES NOT submerge until it knows where its prey is). All those attacks that happened in/on/near the tree were unrealistic if you pay attention to the fact that the croc never seemed to have to surface & look around (or breathe) to determine exactly where the humans were. That, and crocs at rest (even if they're just staking out their territory) typically either lay about on land or float with their eyes/nostrils showing above water.

reply

(Please excuse my english, I'm pretty rusted.)
@tanerb
It's not totally true. Once a crocodile have attacked a prey, it will hide the corpse under subwater rocks or trunks, waiting for its decomposition. These saurians rather eat rotting flesh, so they effectively preserve food.

Stalking preys as described in the film is a behavior already observed among the crocodiles, hiding bodies here and there for later dinner. As regards the boat bumping : a saltie nicknamed "sweetheart" became famous in nothern australia for she attacked small fishing boats.

However, you've got the point for the waterbreathing beast. ^^

I really enjoyed this movie. It maked me retain my breath several times. It reminds me of Open Water (brrr, what an awful situation).

reply

If a crocodile eats a man it will not be hugry nearly for a week
Yeah, but it didn't eat right away (in the movie, obvs.). If a croc sees food it'll take what it can and store it.

it will not attack unless provoked in that case.
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "provoked" by in this case I'd say it was fairly realistic as it would've seen the boat as invading its territory and thus it would've attacked it. Then it would've seen the people as prey (which it did).

Also crocodiles eat whatever they hunt, they do not preserve food.
Seriously? What do you call it when they store their food under things like logs so that the flesh begins to rot and it's easier to eat.

Also they do not breathe under water and goes under water only for attacking.
True, they don't breathe under water, as they have no gills, but they don't just go under water to attack.

They should be seeing it over the tree all around.
Why would a crocodile be on the tree?


I don't need him, I've already got a shallow mate who dresses like a futuristic prostitute

reply

A crocodile does not act like this. This movie was so stupid. If a crocodile eats a man it will not be hugry nearly for a week and it will not attack unless provoked in that case. Also crocodiles eat whatever they hunt, they do not preserve food.Also they do not breathe under water and goes under water only for attacking. They should be seeing it over the tree all around.

You are right, but try convincing the fanboys without being labelled as a "troll"!
I dunno from where those dudes gets their info about the behaviour of crocodiles but seems their knowledge is based more on urban myths instead on serious researchs made by experts on the field.
One of the ads for this movie reads: "Does for cocodriles what Jaws did for sharks". Putting aside that ludicrous comparison between a bona-fide escapist classic and this mediocre film, the ad is right. "Jaws" convinced millions around the world tha White Sharks were the ultimate wicked man-eaters. That myth lasted several decades despite of the effort of countless experts on White Sharks who knew that everything about the sharks in the movie was wrong. Now, Crocs are receiving the same treatment, although this movie will never reach the popularity of Spielberg's film (which is a good thing).
Sorry but crocs don't behave like that. They don't hunt humans one by one. They don't "gather" food on the mud. They are not smart and evil creatures waiting to slaughter unlucky bastards. They don't spend entire days watching a particular prey. They gotta rest on dry soil for a while each day (usually in the morning in order to get warm).
Actually more people dies each year killed by donkeys or bees than people killed by crocs around the world.

BTW the fact that this movie used real crocs, doesn't makes this movie "realistic". Each one of the events depicted in the movie (bar the ridiculous stuff mentioned above), could have happened separetely, but when put together, then the "realism" of the movie disappears once and for all.

Finally, why the fans of this flick get so defensive? I mean, its just a "croc flick"! C'mon! and frankly it's quite dull. It's not like if we were talking about one of the masterpieces directed by Kieslowski or Kurosawa, for God's sake!

3/10 because of the camera work and the footage of real crocs.

reply

Yeah it was truly pathetic. Crocodiles have been known to leave food for later though, a woman was once attacked and put in a death roll, she went limp and then was placed in an under water cave to be eaten later. Croc thought she was dead. Really annoying to here people saying 'the crocs actions were so realistic'. In what world do wild animals kill things and then go, 'Ah I'm not that hungry right now, I'll just let his body float about and get it later. Hopefully no one else will take it.'

reply

He said it was also normal for crocodiles to hunt down a prey, store it, and then go back for more.

"Even if they have something they've taken and killed, if there's another opportunity they'll take it," he said.

"They don't necessarily eat everything they take right away.

"Food's a bit scarce, they'll take something and come back and eat it."



http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/24/1071941770173.html

reply

I wonder if crocs ever tip boats like that.
Regardless, I really liked the movie! Best croc movie I have seen.
The movie takes off real fast and holds you attention with nail biting grasp the whole movie.


~~~~~SPOILER~~~~~~~~~

The only thing I didn't like is that the least likable character in the movie was the one that survived. Plus, why have the woman pregnant if it wasn't a part of the true event? To make us feel even more sympaty? Not necessary if you ask me.

reply

[deleted]

I agree with willy willy. Obviously there is some dramatization but the crocodile does go underwater only to attack, and there are times of year (before breeding season I think) when they are more aggressive than they need to be to eat, and I don't think it is right next to the tree the whole time, it probably swims around quite a lot but is attracted back every time they get back into the water (Lee was bleeding from her ankle). Probably when it is swimming around out of sight of the characters it does have its snout above water, but it goes underneath when it senses a large noisy person in the water. I think a large part of the film is that there doubtless are times when the crocodile has wandered off and they would have been able to get to the boat, as Adam points out. But there is no way they can tell whether it is nearby or not so they have to chance it.

reply

Here's a link regarding the inspiration for the film:http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,2241705,00.html

reply

It is based on 2 actual attacks and the movie "Open Water" ... the attack on the three men who were rescued after a couple of days up a tree has been discussed already. The other was a famous attack on the ecologist Valerie Plumwood, who died just a couple of weeks ago from snakebite ... her canoe was overturned, she had great trouble scrambling up a steep, slippery muddy river-bank while the croc waited as she repeatedly slid back, but she finally made it into a tree ... she was pulled from the tree by the crocodile, and twice survived a "death-roll" which is usually not survived even once ... she got away and had the repeat experience several times on the bank ... she finally made it to level ground and with several broken bones and crawled many kilometres for help.

The person who says crocs don't preserve their meals doesn't know what they are talking about ... they frequently store their kills in underwater log-snags for days and return to them at liesure.

There are several instances of these patient, prolonged attacks.

But you ARE Blanche ... and I AM.

reply

This might interest you:

http://www.aislingmagazine.com/aislingmagazine/articles/TAM30/ValPlumwood.html

But you ARE Blanche ... and I AM.

reply

i didnt get why the croc kept surfacing and showing the girls its victims in its mouth? surely a real croc wouldnt have the intelligence to intimidate people like that?

i guess they just wrote that into the script to make it more scary

reply

i didnt get why the croc kept surfacing and showing the girls its victims in its mouth? surely a real croc wouldnt have the intelligence to intimidate people like that?

i guess they just wrote that into the script to make it more scary



Well, apparently this is precisely what happened during the event that inspired the movie ...


reply

gotta watch them reptiles you know, crafty buggas...

reply

Suure, french band, they always stick to the facts.

Unbelievable how Tanerb and Sei made perfectly logical points and people still try to cut them down. It's VERY UNLIKELY that a croc who won't be hungry for a week will go after "anything else that's there", for crying out loud. And nobody said ANYTHING about the croc being in a damn tree!! Get real. Ever hear of a croc swimming on the surface, or lying on a mudbank like the one in the film?

reply

Agreed, whitespirit.

That's the problem with dangerous-wild-critters-stalking-humans films like this one and "Rogue" -- to maintain tension and a sense of threat, and give the punters the gruesome deaths they bought their tickets to see, the filmmakers have to make the crocs (or sharks, or giant snakes, for that matter) do things they wouldn't do in real life, and show levels of sentience they don't really possess.

When we see Jim's body, for instance, it's missing its head, an arm, and both legs. Crocs have very slow digestive rates; even for a large croc, that would be enough of a meal for it to not want to feed again for several weeks. Not to mention the fact that it crunched up poor Adam as well. Crocs do store their food and let it rot; it's a kind of pre-digestion for them, because their systems can manage flesh that's already decaying better than when it's fresh. But they don't have an "eat one now, save one for later" sort of approach; they don't kill and stash the body, and then come back for someone else to munch on while they're waiting for the first one they killed to get suitably rotten.

I know, it's IMDb. Someone's going to spout that "It's not a documentary, it's entertainment" mantra. As if a film can't be entertaining and make sense at the same time.

And it makes me shake my head, sometimes, at just how many people on IMDb would rather get argumentative and snarky than try to have a rational conversation. We're on Discussion Boards, not Be a Smart-Arse Turd and Try to Score Mindless Points Off Other People Boards.




You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment.

reply

Since you have some knowledge about this, can you clarify some details to me?

1) The croc staring at the girls and going under water to attack is possible? I mean they were right there. Why would it not just attack instead of going under water to drag its prey?

2) How does she escape when it does attack her and pull her under water? How did she free herself?

3) Why didn't it kill the other girl instead of leaving her in the mud next to it's first kill? I can understand it storing it's prey but wouldn't its bite kill the girl? She was injured but not much. She was mobile with a crooked finger and some weak bites in her hip.

4) Why was it stalking her again after she got the gun? How did she outrun the croc in the water until when the croc caught her and her gun worked?

Just want to know what is realistic and what was cinematic.

<<-- Mess With The Best, Die Like The Rest -->>

reply

Sometimes, Plague, they go under to drag prey under by its feet or legs, easier to grab than its trunk.

"How does she escape when it does attack her and pull her under water? How did she free herself?"

If you fight a croc well and hit it somewhere it hurts, it can actually let go, esp if it's not that hungry. But she didn't really escape the second time it grabbed her; it took her to a mudbank and stashed her there to feed off of later. It didn't kill her because once she passed out, it assumed she was dead and stopped trying.

"Why was it stalking her again after she got the gun? How did she outrun the croc in the water until when the croc caught her and her gun worked?"

Crocodiles can be territorial and aggressive for that reason as well as hunger. If that croc was a female and mother, and saw a living creature near its nest (such as the mudbank), it's possible it would have chased her, or if there were two crocs as I said earlier and this one hadn't eaten yet. But it clearly wasn't in a hurry, hence its leisurely movement towards her; the reasons for that could be varied, or purely cinematic :) Sorry I didn't see your question six years ago, lol!

reply

Very true, Puert. It IS possible there was more than one croc, maybe two; I don't know if they nest or not.

reply