Black Water: Abyss (2020) User Reviews

I was cheering for the Croc after 40 minutes..

[guinden · 5/10 · 7 August 2020]

The movie starts good the tension is there similar to the old Black water movie which was really good. But then pacing slows down and character decisions and actions are became annoyingly stupid a few times.

There are some total unnecessary "story" lines. So yeah after 40 min i was really cheering for the croc...

Not to mention the last act of the movie which was intentionally stupid or hilarious i couldn't decide.

5/10 cause at least the atmosphere reminded me the old movie.

The croc is the only one with any intelligence.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 24 February 2022]

I have never been attacked by a crocodile, nor have I been trapped in a cave system that is slowly filling up with water. That's because I am not completely stupid, unlike the characters in Black Water: Abyss. Despite a storm fast approaching, five friends decide to go spelunking in a remote part of Northern Australia, without telling anyone where they are going; the idiots also pay no heed to the fact that tourists have recently gone missing in the area. Crawling through a network of tunnels without recording their progress, the morons arrive in a waterlogged cavern, which becomes flooded when a nearby river bursts its banks. There's also the small issue of the very hungry croc that has made the cave its home...

I can't imagine that the budget for this sequel was particularly big, which is probably why the croc remains hidden for most of the time, lurking under the surface of the murky water. This hidden threat actually works in the film's favour: had director Andrew Traucki decided to show us more of his scaly menace, he would have had to resort to more of the lousy CGI that spoils the final act, when the croc is seen in all of its laughable 'glory'. Knowing that something nasty is under the water is enough to keep the level of suspense high -- less is definitely more when you don't have the cash for top-notch effects -- and Traucki makes the most of his claustrophobic setting with some tense underwater scenes.

Of course, with the croc out of sight for much of the time, the plot requires some padding, and in this case it's that hoary old cliché of relationship issues, with infidelity amongst the group. It doesn't really add much to the movie, except for making it okay when the cheating boyfriend is snapped up by the croc, although the equally deceitful girl in the situation is given a free pass.

In the very dumb final act, the two surviving women manage to escape the cave via a very convenient 'plug hole' that leads to the outside, but must do battle with the croc one more time when they stupidly crash their car into the river while driving away. Did I mention that they're not all that smart?

4.5/10, generously rounded up to 5 for IMDb.

Starts Ok, Gets Worse, Becomes Ridiculous

[nebk · 4/10 · 7 August 2020]

Black Water: Abyss is about a group of 5 friends who go exploring an undiscovered cave which happens to be the domain of a big man eating crocodile. There are 2 couples and 1 single guy. A huge storm causes a rock fall which blocks the way they came in and they have to find a way out while being picked off one by one while the water levels keep rising. The acting is decent enough and the effects are not great but are passable for this type of lower budget film.

The movie starts off ok with a little character development and there is some suspense when the crocodile first starts stalking them in the cave. The movie then loses momentum and starts dragging way too much however and the situations become more implausible and predictable. At first it looked like the movie tried to avoid all the horror cliches and jump scares but in the second half of the movie those are pretty much the only things that keep on happening: cliche after cliche with jump scares in between. There is an attempt to flesh out the characters by bringing in unnecessary personal drama which seems contrived and only there to pad the run time. In the end the survivors make it out, get into the car and drive off straight into the water again where the same crocodile attacks them for the final time. And that's just dumb, unnecessary and there only to provide the last showdown with the predator that's been stalking them. Unfortunately it is not believable or well done so it cheapens the movie even more.

You'll have more sympathy for the Crocodile than the cast.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 4/10 · 18 December 2020]

I enjoyed the start, withe couple lost and arguing, and for some strange reason switching to argue in English, but as soon as the four main thrill seekers appear on screen, it all goes downhill.

I can't remember the last time I watched a good monster in a cave film, there seem to have been quite a few. You watch for ages before anything happens, it literally takes about fifty minutes for anything to happen.

I was genuinely glad when that crocodile got what it wanted. The good looking blonde dude was such a smug character.

Toothless, 4/10.

Ending Ruins It

[onexmillion · 5/10 · 8 August 2020]

Pretty standard formula here; trapped desperate to escape a killer croc. What are you expecting exactly. Acting pretty good, the usual daft decisions in a film such as this are being made and even the unnecessary story line detour was fine for me. A few jump scares here and there...all good.

Then there's the stupid ending. The survivors go roaring off in the truck and crash it right back into the river where they escaped. Obviously get attacked by the same croc and end up killing it.

Why does it need this part in the film? Some form of revenge satisfaction to kill the croc? It's just a croc doing what it does. Would have been a better film if they'd left the stupid ending out. 6/10 without the crappy ending.

Predictable and less than mediocre entertainment...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 7 August 2020]

Well, did we really need another movie about a group of spelunking people getting trapped underground with no way out, a rising water mass and a man-eating creature?

The answer is no, not really. And the 2020 movie "Black Water: Abyss" from writers John Ridley and Sarah Smith didn't really impress much. Especially since it offered virtually nothing new to the genre, and there are other movies in the genre that proved to have more bite to it - pardon the pun.

And director Andrew Traucki didn't really manage to muster up a story that was all that entertaining. Sure, "Black Water: Abyss" was watchable, but it was awfully predictable and generic. And that made the movie suffer.

The acting in the movie was adequate, but the characters were slightly less adequate. But once you've seen one of these movies, you've essentially seen them all. And the characters in "Black Water: Abyss" were generic, sure.

And for a movie with a man-eating crocodile, then "Black Water: Abyss" just didn't pack enough of a forceful bite. The scenes with the crocodile were just too far between, and there wasn't enough scenes with the man-eater. So it was slightly boring.

I will say, though, that the crocodile was nicely animated and seemed very realistic. So that was definitely a plus. Just a shame it wasn't all that much in the movie.

The ending of the movie was just bland and super predictable. It was actually a ridiculous ending to the movie; one that you saw coming a mile away.

I am rating "Black Water: Abyss" a less than mediocre four out of ten stars. It offers nothing that we haven't already seen in other movies in the same genre.

Stick with the first

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 31 December 2020]

A belated follow-up to the mildly diverting Aussie crocodile film of 2007, BLACK WATER, ABYSS follows a separate storyline in which a group of divers find themselves trapped in a flooded cave system and at the mercy of a couple of hungry crocodiles. It's similar to last year's CRAWL but nowhere near as entertaining, suffering from dull characters, indifferent performances, and a general lack of suspense. Most of the film consists of these characters literally treading water and occasionally getting munched on, but the effects are very cheap looking and the whole thing starts to get tedious very quickly.

How Hungry is that Croc?!

[PaulWFranklin · 3/10 · 26 September 2022]

The premise is pretty ridiculous - 5 friends with barely any caving experience go into an unknown system (which they seem to think will make them a load of money - like, if you find a cave, can you claim if for yourself, do guided tours and stick a gift shop at the end?).

The Very Expensive Lamp - that was very conveniently mentioned for us in the first scene - dies within 3 minutes. Not that it would've helped much.

Now, i'm no crocodile expert, but i'm pretty sure they normally sit near the surface with just their eyes and nostrils sticking out. Which anyone with a torch would easily spot. But not this croc... he (or she/it: one should never assume a crocodile's gender) likes to lurk lower down, and suddenly swoop up (at great speed) from the depths.

Also: it must be Very hungry. Although not hungry enough to eat all of a Japanese woman. Racist croc! (You'd think, of all the nationalities, they would taste most like fish.) BUT it'll gladly attack a white dude. And having consumed him (probably?), half an hour later he's back for more! Two whole adult males. A veritable feast for the beast.

The very ending is actually quite exciting (although how they end up in that situation is laughable), and is a nice little add-on if you get that far. Although this woman, who's probably never used a gun before, casually holds that .45 handgun with one hand like she's Clint Eastwood. Her aim might've been better if she'd used two.

Anyway, that sums it up. I watched it so you don't have to.

Not enough bite but ok

[belfastrix · 6/10 · 19 July 2020]

5 go into a cave. They get trapped inside because of a storm ( that they knew about ). A big croc is lurking and you can guess the rest yourself. Could've been a lot better but also worse. Was just glad to be back in the cinema

It's okay.

[kjjames81 · 4/10 · 18 August 2020]

If your bored and have nothing else to watch then by all means go and watch this film, you could do worse but if you have other things to watch and miss this little title then don't panic your not missing much. I was hoping this would be much more edge of your seat tension but there was none. That's right no tension at all, in fact the last thirty minute I was praying the film to end. Now don't get me wrong, the cast and the story did nothing wrong but the film itself became boring quickly, nothing happened and that my dear reader is where the film falters. A basic adventure film, not a horror. Just about four stars.

Highly credible croc movie

[robertemerald · 8/10 · 22 September 2020]

Two of the reviews I read for this movie, one before, one after, were grossly unfair, so much so I struggle to wonder if people really care what they leave online. The movie opens with a startling 'forerunner' scene, and it's chilling. There are a few minutes of getting to know the cast, then the tension begins. Black water: Abyss is well cast, and the characters aren't irritatingly teenage or immature, in fact, they are very believable. I loved the lighting. I assume in modern terms there are a number of modern lights you take into a cave system, in any case, it worked well. Creepy reflections off cavern walls perfectly highlighted the horror lurking in the pools below. The croc itself is realistic, not massive as in Rogue, but big enough, and seen pretty often. Hats off to the actual attacks. I thought that very realistic. Black Water: Abyss was, for me, a very satisfying wild creature horror experience.

Realistic crocodile thrill!

[ReliableReview · 6/10 · 11 August 2020]

This is not too bad and the crocodiles look real. It's your standard crocodile thriller about a group of friends going spelunking and get trapped in a cave with a hungry crocodile but it's quite well done and the crocodile is shown just enough and it's not an exaggerated monster movie. There's some silly friendship melodrama but overall it was an enjoyable creature feature.

Victor!... Jenn!... Victor!... Victor!... Jenn! Jenn!... ... Victor!

[metalbeard · 2/10 · 8 August 2020]

If you've read the title of this review, you've seen the movie. Forget about seeing any actual crocodile.

Abyss..mal

[damianphelps · 2/10 · 4 August 2022]

Just terrible, name cashing movie, that delivers nil compared to its namesake.

The acting is not as bad as the story but its not great.

Save your time and your money :)

Boring and predictable

[horst69 · 1/10 · 7 August 2020]

I really enjoyed the other Black Water movie, which this one's title seems to be referring to .

It's nothing like that film though; just a drawn out sequence of almost identical scenes , no storyline to speak of, and actors that are instantly forgettable .

Found too much light and passivness in this Abyss

[TwistedContent · 4/10 · 9 August 2020]

Andrew Traucki, director of the somewhat acclaimed creatures features "Black Water" and "The Reef", brings a sequel (only in name) to his first killer croc hooray. I remember watching "Black Water" way back when, and it worked on suspense, the limited location, the one woman's show, though still lacking some necessary sauce. This next part seems to be also relying a lot on suspense and fear of a force that's lurking unseen - the movie largely does so with lackluster energy, and a newcomer filler is a fair amount of melodrama, which didn't feel very welcome to me.

Like many similar movies, "Abyss" kicks off with a pair of unfortunate tourists falling prey to the croc of the caves, it will be in his home we're going to spend most of the screentime. A home too plain, too evenly lit, barely succeeding to feel claustrophobic, consequently struggling to establish an atmosphere. Our protagonists are 5 rather stereotypical movie friends with typical plot problems and arches - one has to be prepared for soapy notes throughout. Story's simple and slow, ending does not hit any nails on the head, and all in all there's a predictable story riddled with minor bugs. While all this may be so, a good portion of people are probably most excited about the action and croc himself. Well, he hides. A lot. There's some cgi and some practical effects, and I'm not entirely sure about the partial usage of real crocodiles as it's known about the first "Black Water" flick. "Abyss" is a low budget feature, and action describes that, not the worst, but mostly heavily edited with close-ups, shaky cam, all kinds of cheaper substitute techniques. It's a killer reptile movie that's above the syfy-type, but below the better examples like "Rogue" or "Crawl", though I'll admit the latter is not a lot about that realism. The cast consists of little known names who do a decent job, but little of anything manages to impress as the growingly tedious nature of "Black Water: Abyss" marches on for 90 minutes.

I felt a certain disappointment for an anticipated movie coming from a guy who's biggest love and mission seems to be animal/nature/creature horror genre. If you have a lot of patience and are looking for utter realism in this genre movies, it might be worth giving "Abyss" a spin. My rating: 4/10.

Black Water: Arse

[vengeance20 · 1/10 · 6 May 2021]

Thought this would be somewhat better. How wrong was I...! 😒

The film follows a group who go cave diving but then get trapped inside only to find there's a croc after them and they must find a way to escape and fast as the water level inside the cave is rising fast.

The film like the first sucks, except this one hits rock bottom! The film is pretty much like the original and follows the same pattern, except it's 3 men and 2 women! 1 is pregenant, the other is judgy & condescending! Doesn't take much of a genius to figure out who lives and dies in this film given the day and age we live in where men can't be heros or strong characters. Not to mention how they get portrayed as idiots, badies or pos. While the women get portrayed as strong, good, smart characters who have that I-DoN't-NeEd-A-mAn-In-My-LiFe complex!

It's not just that, but when one of the men got bit near the end he died. Yet when the female got bit, what do you know!? She survived! Typical!

Aside from that complaint, the film was pretty boring overall, the kills sucked hard & the action was too few & far between! The film also relied on plot devices & conveniences especially the ones I mentioned above which favoured the female characters in the film! It haa to be said cause it really annoyed and reminded me of Deep Blue Sea 3...!

Overall, this is worse than it's 2008 counter-part! 90 minutes long & ended stupidly not to mention laughbly! 1/10.

Bland

[kuarinofu · 4/10 · 9 August 2020]

The film is long, generic and absolutely uninteresting.

I mean, a group of mostly inexperienced people decided to delve into a random cave and also bring a pregnant woman with them. You can't write characters that are more stupid that these, really.

It was mostly fine on a technical level, but there's just nothing interesting about the characters or the story, no interesting locations, visuals, anything.

I understand that maybe the creators wanted to make it look realistic and dry, but you have to have something in your film that will capture the viewer's attention, just having stupid people in it doesn't help, nor does help having a love triangle subplot in a crisis situation. And yeah, the ending is just ridiculously bad.

As I scanned through the reviews it become clear that this is a sequel to a popular film I haven't seen (which is much better), so I'll guess I'll check it out as well.

Surprisingly enough, this was a very weak attempt at a croc film provided that Australians have some really good films in the sub-genre, like Rogue (2007).

This is very skippable. There's absolutely nothing in this that will horrify or entertain you in any way.

watchable. but, Jen!..

[valentinionut · 6/10 · 7 August 2020]

Jen, you silly girl. Jen cant explain what happened to Victor, she just cries . Jen is cheated by her bf who gets the other girl pregnant. not now, before what we see. Jen is so clumsy, she need to get out of the water and its a step out high and she trips and hits her head to sleep so the other guy, not her bf, but the bf of the other girl, has to get down to her and gets the jaws. Jen. you should not even step outside your home, you silly charachter.

I miss crocodile / alligator films, A terrible movie. What a waste of time...

[Neptune165 · 2/10 · 31 August 2022]

Moral of story = guns save lives, i guess. About the end - it's stupid, it's a tired cliché, and because of that, I started to wonder if I had actually been mildly entertained at all. Turns out, the ending is like finding a meatball at the bottom of your cheap mint ice-cream sundae: not absolutely the worst thing you possibly could've found at the end, but enough to spoil what little pleasure you took from the first 90%, and leaves you wondering if it was enjoyable in the first place, and if it was all actually worth it. That is the worst metaphor my idiot mind's ever told my fingers to write. Very disappointed with this movie. It looks like Hollywood makes all movies with the same ending again and again. No fantasy. At very beginning of this move, just by looking who is going for adventure, was easy to tell: 3 guys as always gonna die, and 2 girls gonna survive. Its 100% guaranteed, all Hollywood movies have the same ending. Did anybody see any movie where at the end girls die and guys survive? I never seen that in any movie, ever Boring and predictable. It's about a group of people trapped in an enclosed space with a deadly predator? I can't believe there's a sequel. The original is far from great but it has a very special place in my heart. I think the problem with predator movies is that immersion and tension is immediately lost when the story strains credulity and suspension of disbelief to get the victims to the predator. People act like idiots for no reason other than to be put next to the shark/crocodile/bear/lepus/w/e. One of the reasons Jaws works is because everyone has motivation to go to the water (forgetting the sequels). Most predator movies lost that somewhere. Also, wasn't the 47 meters down sequel about surviving a shark in a cave ?

Better than what they said!

[ebenbanban · 9/10 · 7 August 2020]

This is a fun ride with not much crocodiles. Most of the tensions work. It is not perfect but the experience is better than what they said!

It's Good

[nalaka-net · 7/10 · 10 August 2020]

So many haters in the review section. Don't know how much these people expect. compared to stupid movies these days, this is fairly good. Suspenseful and keep the viewer on edge.

Its a comedy

[bummerswagger · 2/10 · 21 June 2021]

From thriller to comedy. I ended up watching it laughing😅

Wanted a film similar to The Descent, but this wasn't it

[jtindahouse · 5/10 · 22 September 2020]

'Black Water: Abyss' seemed like an odd title to me, but I didn't click on to the fact it was probably a sequel until reading it was after seeing it. Usually I like to see originals before I watch their sequels, however in this case I don't suspect it will matter too much. An opening scene for any horror/thriller is so important. It sets the tone for everything to come. The opening scene is this film is about as bland as they come. Almost no creativity or effort on the part of the writers went into it. Everything that happens is as bland and predictable as you could possibly imagine. The film does get slightly better as it goes along, but it never reaches any great heights.

I hate it when a character in a movie is said to be pregnant early on. It's supposed to make us care more about the fate of that character, but all it does it make them feel extremely safe. It does play into a side plot later on, but the movie would be so much better without it being there.

The plot of the movie is basically a group being stuck in a cave, with a crocodile running rampant. That sounds like a fun movie. I was hoping for something more along the lines of 'The Decent'. But in 'The Decent' they felt genuinely lost underground and like they could be miles from getting out and only digging themselves deeper. It created an extreme sense of claustrophobia for the audience. In 'Black Water: Abyss' however, it feels like they have only just entered the cave when the trouble begins, and like they are always very close to being able to get out.

There are a few scenes that create some genuine tension and the effects with the crocodile are quite well done throughout. Caving in Northern Australia sounds like the worst thing in the world to me and is something I'll never do, but I can handle watching a film about it. There isn't a whole lot to recommend about this one sadly.

A cheap and boring monster movie

[sbweightman · 2/10 · 8 August 2020]

A cheap monster movie that isn't bad per say, but is boring to watch. It has 1 or 2 good moments, but the story is formulaic, the characters are bland, the family drama sub-plot is unnecessary and the dialogue and acting is passable at best. No horror (unless you're afraid of dirty water) and no real surprises or suspense. The ending and scenes with of the crocodile are ok, but nothing special.