Film Review - The Reef: Stalked (2022)

Film Review – The Reef: Stalked (2022)

Before the opening credits there’s a tragedy that has nothing to do with a Shark setting up emotional driven momentum for what is to follow, in particular for Nic (Teressa Liane) shattered after a fatal discovery.

Skip to nine months later, Nic catches up with her little sister Annie (Saskia Archer) with old friends Lisa (Kate Lister) and Jodie (Ann Truong) reluctantly joining them on a pacific island girls only kayaking journey.

Before too long an evasive shark begins circling and seemingly following the off-guard tourists.

Nic has flashbacks to the previous trauma, connecting those events to what begins to transpire on the ocean with her friends then using that adrenaline to take charge against all odds.

There are genuine jump scares mixed with building tensions.

Bright sun, blue water, soft breeze, all the elements of paradise and heaven for a lurking elasmobranch.

Some impressive Justin Brickle cinematography filled with interesting drone and GoPro shots enhance remote locales, whilst the Mark Smyth score is at times dynamic. Quality footage of real sharks are clearly spliced in for authenticity.

Not a sequel to, The Reef (2010) although Andrew Traucki, directed both.

Chemistry between the quartet works, in particular Teressa Liane, a strong female with layers and character traits keeping things grounded whilst in survival mode.

Shark movies are a popular genre, good, bad or indifferent, this is middling.