Day 10 - The Reef - October Horror Movie Challenge

THE REEF (2010)

Don't worry, what do they say? You're more likely to die from a bee sting than get killed by a shark...

(There will be major spoilers so skip if you don't want to be spoiled)

Kate, her brother Matt and his girlfriend Suzie are on vacation and Kate's ex Luke has offered them a boat ride. He delivers boats and yachts for a living and is delivering a boat that they join him on. He's also joined by Warren who will help him deliver the boat and help out with driving and what not.

The first part of the trip goes great except for Luke and Kate who are struggling with their relationship and possibly starting it up again. After stopping on a small island and going snorkeling for awhile they head back to the boat.

The next morning the boat hits something and flips, leaving the group stranded on top of the boat. Luke quickly takes charge and decides that they should swim for land because there is some about 10-12 miles north. Warren decides to stay back because he's terrified of what's in the water. The three of them begin to swim for a shoreline they cannot see and soon find themselves in the middle of open water with nothing in site. Oh, and there's something splashing about in the distance...

Alright...so what did I love about this movie?

• First of all - they don't actually show the shark until about an hour in which really keeps the tension high. And when you do see the shark it looks completely realistic....I'm guessing they used real footage of a shark for most of it until the attacks.
• Everyone stayed so calm which I appreciated. Ya'll know I hate when the movie wastes ten minutes of everyone losing their shit instead of fixing the problem.
• The turtle scene....that had me SHOOK. I rarely jump anymore but that made me freak out.
• It's an intense as hell movie and honestly just leaves you feeling so jumpy and scared. I went outside for a smoke during it and something touched my leg in the dark (most likely ash from my cigarette) and I lost my shit thinking it was a shark. On my balcony. Four stories up.

What didn't I love?

• Warren was the WORST. Like...kay fine...you're gonna stay behind while everyone swims for help but why you gottta be such a dick about it? When Suzie is getting dressed in a wet suit, all he has to say is, "you look like a seal in that. Sharks love seals." LIKE WOW. RUDE.
• Also Luke suggesting they swim 10 miles? Are you joking? Oh, just a casual 10 mile swim through open, shark infested water. No biggie.
• And the boat flipping? What in the hell? It was like smooth sailing and then all of a sudden the boat was upside down. Like....how?

Overall?

There is nothing more terrifying to me than being in open water at night. And this movie scared the shit out of me. I don't know why I thought it would be a good idea to watch all these shark movies before I leave for Hawaii. Good luck family, getting me in the ocean.

This movie is based off of a real event which is so terrifying because it justifies my fears - Ray Boundry and his friends were on a fishing boat in 1983 when it capsized off the coast of Townsville, Australia. They had surfboards and used those to stay afloat and swim to a reef but a tiger shark started hunting them and attacked one of the guys. That guy, the true goddamn hero, swam away from the group to distract the shark and it eventually killed him. But two hours later the shark came back and took the second person, killing her. That left Ray the only survivor who managed to swim ashore but not missing out on also getting attacked. Luckily he survived his injuries. CAN YOU FUCKING IMAGINE?!!?

I liked The Reef quite a bit, but I think out of the water movies I watched, The Shallows was my favorite.

7/10

So that brings us to the end of the water theme and now we're diving head first back in time to the 90's.

Stay spooky!