MOVIE REVIEW

MPA Rating: for strong graphic violence, brutality, terror and language.

Against the backdrop of Africa and it’s war torn regions, mainly the civil war lasting twelve years between the Burundi Government and the Hutu Rebels which ended in May 15, 2005, this horror film attempts to tell two stories at once. Have you ever tried to have two conversations at the same time? Possible, but one of them will come up short, or in this case both suffer.

An American news crew travels to one of the most remote locations on the planet in hopes of capturing the savage serial killer rumored to have claimed over 300 lives in this white knuckle horror thriller starring Dominic Purcell and Orlando Jones (“Runaway Jury,” “Evolution”), and based on actual events. As the intrepid documentarians cautiously make their way up the Rusizi River, they soon find that the brutality inflicted on man by his own kind pales in comparison to the relentless viciousness of another very resilient predator. During the opening credits alone, death is every where—body parts are shown, guts, and blood, rotting corpses—and while this is in progress, a woman is dragged and eaten by the crocodile before the opening credits are done. There is an attempted rape by a soldier, and the woman’s bra is exposed. The carnage is a free for all, and so is the language.

The F-word is used 15x, s**** is used 18x, the A-word is used 7x; also the d*** 3x. A-H is used twice, and the name of Jesus is used twice as an exclamation. 2 Timothy 2:16 reads: “But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.” The characters seem unhappy and not very fulfilled. In John 16:22 we read, “Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice and your joy no one will take from you.”

The acting is not bad. Orlando Jones adds much needed comedy relief. Though the language is not great, he is, as always, at his best in the laugh department. Brooke Lagton is not bad as the female lead, but not as good as she was in “The Replacements,” and though I really like the intensity provided by Dominic Pucell, being a fan of his work, let me add that this character is just as intense as that of his “Prison Break” (TV series) counterpart, without the tension of the feds being after him.

Guns are repeatedly used and fired, and people are shot at. Murder is rampant, and people are shot point blank in the head, and one man is beheaded. Children are shot at and hurt, constantly, with one little girl being eaten by the crocodile.

In one scene Purcell’s character says something very poignant, though he quotes the shaman of a tribe, saying “civil war, genocide, all those bodies floating in the water. That’s where he got a taste for human flesh. We …create our own monsters.” Of course, he’s referring to the crocodile, but this speaks to the predicament the world is in today. We have free will, and I think this is a great example of what happens when we exercise that free will God has bestowed on us, and when we walk away from His love and His will for our lives.

In general, this film does touch on the sadness in that part of the world, but not with the truth being the catalyst, such as it is in “Blood Diamond,” but as an in-betweener of the croc eating people.

This is not a film I would take my family to see, or recommend for any one.