Credits

Director: Arch Nicholson Starring: David Gulpilil, Burnum Burnum, John Jarratt, Nikki Coghill, Max Phipps, Ray Meagher Screenplay: Sonia Borg Country: Australia

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Anyway, since it's been about 12 years since I've seen it, this was kind of like watching Dark Age for the first time. At a cattle station, cool guy David Gulpilil knows a big croc is around. He tries to warn some people not to go croc poaching, and he's no Crazy Ralph so they really should've listened, but they don't and they run into Numunwari. After the attack, ranger John Jarratt (who I guess I had seen in something before Wolf Creek – I just didn't remember) is called in. A Koori elder, Burnum Burnum, explains that Jarratt's gonna have trouble getting the croc because it's a Dreaming Crocodile, old and smart. Jarratt is caught between his ethics, wanting to save Numunwari, and the law, which wants to destroy him.

When I first saw Dark Age, I was looking for a movie like Killer Crocodile, thanks in part to the review I'd read which made a bit much of the croc attacks. I was a bit disappointed for a few reasons. The main one is that, in the tradition of Razorback, Dark Age is an Australian horror movie with a tacky killer animal. Numunwari isn't very stealthy, which may be part of the reason that people seem to have no qualms with hanging out in or near the water, and at times he looks like a bathroom floaty toy. The croc is often laughable, and this is probably why I erased the film from my memory banks. Because I wanted killer croc mayhem, I also didn't pay attention to the ecological and sociological themes of this movie, which were something I really enjoyed this time around. Most of the Anglo characters in the film are dismissive and derogatory to the aboriginal characters, but the film itself isn't, and Steve Irwin probably would've loved Jarratt's croc loving character that's crusading for croc conservation. But then a lot of crocs get shot in the movie, so maybe it's good it wasn't released here in Irwin's lifetime because it probably would've made him cry.

The first hour of Dark Age is pretty awesome, despite the crappy croc. It was fun seeing Jarratt prepare for his next round of croc combat in Rogue, and I liked his character that was a bit like Les the Bush Tucker Man, but without the hat. So not really like Les at all. The film definitely owes a bit to Jaws, but Dark Age's finale is so silly that it's got a lot in common with the tongue-in-cheek Lake Placid. The ending also gets a bit disjointed when the film clearly shifts from an area that looks like Queensland to Central Australia within a few moments. Given the drastic change in landscape you'd have to think even overseas viewers would pick up on this transgression. You can't even pretend the action is going on somewhere else, since it's specifically stated they're heading to Simpson's Gap. Yes, Simpson's Gap outside Alice Springs. Because that's where you would expect a crocodile movie to be taking place!

Other things are silly, too. The love interest says Jarratt's skull may be thicker than a crocodile's. At Hartley's I watched two male crocs testing each other for 45 minutes by bashing their heads together, and it made a massive cracking sound each time. I eventually gave up and left, and they were still going at it. They shoulda gave up, too, because they were argy bargying over a female, and while they did that a sneaky male came in and sealed the deal with her. Regardless of croc mating habits, I think it's safe to say Jarratt could not happily bash a crocodile in the head with his own head for three quarters of an hour, so his skull is significantly less thick than a crocodile's. Talk about a silly thing to say.