The Reef: Stalked – Shudder Review (3/5)

THE REEF: STALKED is the official sequel to Andrew Traucki’s The Reef. While this movie has a lot going for it, the ending does let it down quite a lot. Still, I appreciate the real shark footage used. Read our full The Reef: Stalked movie review here!

THE REEF: STALKED is the official sequel to Andrew Traucki’s The Reef. The film features a very small cast, which works really well. I mean, let’s be real, it’s all about the shark anyway.

MORE SHARK HORROR

Check out our list of Top 5 Shark Horror Movies that we did a few years back >

And when it comes to the shark, I like the fact that a lot of real shark footage was used instead of CGI in every shot. There is CGI used as well, but not too much. Which is a good thing! This new shark horror movie is swimming to select theaters and is out on Digital/VOD as well as Shudder now.

Continue reading our The Reef: Stalked movie review below.

A small cast keeps the story focused

The Reef: Stalked stars Teressa Liane (The Vampire Diaries) in the lead role as the character we follow. However, from start to finish (well, sort of, I won’t spoil anything here), she’s joined by a small cast that includes a few familiar faces.

There’s Ann Truong, who is also in the Netflix series Cowboy Bebop, as someone who is very comfortable in the ocean. Also, there’s Saskia Archer (Boshack) who looks quite a lot like Olivia DeJonge (Better Watch Out) to me. And also, you’ll see Kate Lister (who you might recognize from Netflix’s Clickbait).

Tim Ross (Wonderland) plays a very small but pivotal role. All the actors do solid jobs, but the script does let them all down a bit along the way.

More real sharks

While there is only really one shark in The Reef: Stalked, we see a lot of shark footage that is edited elegantly into this movie. The classic shark horror movie plot is always about one shark. From Jaws to any other number of shark horror movies. Hell, even “Moby Dick” (which is about a whale) has a focus on the one big enemy.

It works really well, and having the real shark footage included makes for a much more visceral experience.

And yes, there is also CGI used and it isn’t all that great. To be fair, shark CGI is never that great and in The Reef: Stalked it is definitely better than a lot of other shark horror movies, I’ve watched. In other words, for fans of sharks, you’ll be seeing a lot of real sharks and not just computer versions of sharks.

Watch The Reef: Stalked on Shudder now!

The new Australian shark horror movie was written and directed by Andrew Traucki as a follow-up to his 2010 film The Reef. More recently, Andrew Traucki also directed the horror movie Black Water which also took place in the water. However, the danger didn’t come from a shark in that one.

DO CHECK OUT

Our review of the horror-thriller Black Water: Abyss here >

The Reef: Stalked was produced by Neal Kingston (Great White), Michael Robertson (The Pack), Jack Christian (Black Water: Abyss), and writer/director Andrew Traucki (The Reef).

While the ending does let down the overall plot by being too predictable, I did enjoy most of the movie up until that point. Whenever a film ends in a way where everything that could go wrong, does go wrong, I just get a little irritated. It seems lazy when done in this particular way.

However, if you enjoy shark horror movies, you don’t want to miss this one.

The Reef: Stalked is out in select Theaters, On Demand, and Streaming on Shudder from July 29, 2022.

Details

Director: Andrew Traucki
Writer: Andrew Traucki
Cast: Teressa Liane, Ann Truong, Saskia Archer, Katie Lister