A Real Life Tragedy Inspired TWO Australian Creature Features [Murder Made Fiction Podcast]

After kicking off Australian horror month with Greg McLean’s Wolf Creek (listen), Jenn and I have turned our attention to a crocodile-based creature feature. But rather than do Rogue, another film by the same Aussie director, we’re spreading the love to filmmakers Andrew Traucki and David Nerlich and their 2007 film Black Water.

The film is based on a real-life incident from 2003, when 22-year-old Brett Mann was swept away in a flooded river in the Northern Territory. His two friends, Ashley McGough and Shaun Blowers, pursued him, but when McGough spotted a crocodile in the water, the pair climbed a tree to safety. Sadly, Mann was killed, and his body was carried away by the creature.

The nightmare for his friends continued when the crocodile returned, forcing them to spend the night in the tree. It’s a harrowing story that was turned into not one, but two 2007 creature features: McLean’s $30M film Rogue and Traucki & Nerlich’s $1M low budget film.

In Black Water, Lee (Maeve Dermody) and her older sister Grace (Diana Glenn), along with Grace’s boyfriend Adam (Andy Rodoreda), take an impromptu fishing trip while on vacation. When their boat is capsized in a deserted mangrove swamp and their guide Jim (Ben Oxenbould) is killed, the trio is forced to seek refuge in a tree and plan their escape.

But without the ability to communicate with the outside world and a predatory crocodile circling below, what hope do the survivors have of escape?

Episode 38: Black Water (2007)

Climb that tree because we’re headed into croc-infested waters with Traucki and Nerlich’s 2007 creature feature, Black Water. It’s a low budget affair, but shot in such a savvy way that Jenn nearly loses it.

Plus: changes to Brett Mann’s real life story, comparisons to Greg McLean’s Rogue, crocs vs alligators (play the Jenn drinking game!), and the smartest $5K Joe has seen on screen.

Next week: Jenn and I tackle Justin Kurzel’s dark crime story Snowtown before ending Australian horror month with Ben Young’s kidnapping film Hounds of Love (C/W for both: rape and torture).

Plus: over on Patreon (patreon.com/murdermadefiction) we dug into the entirety of Netflix’s new wellness influencer series Apple Cider Vinegar, which includes a primer on Belle Gibson, the Aussie grifter who lied about having brain cancer. Subscribe here for more than 45 hours of bonus content and ~70 episodes.

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