DARK AGE (1987) - John Jarratt, Nikki Coghill

[FlyBry]

"In the Australian outback, a park ranger and two local guides set out to track down a giant bloodthirsty crocodile called Numinwary that has been killing and eating the local populace. Some want the creature dead. Others revere it as a god. During the hunt, one of the guides discovers that he has an ESP connection to the giant creature. The intrepid group will risk life and limb in a terrifying journey that will test their nerves and transform the tranquil Territory waters into a raging red torrent of death."

I really would like to own this solid piece of Ozploitation again. I had the Charter VHS many years ago and always liked the vibe this movie gives off. It has a wholly different feel than many other giant croc/alligator films, a sub-genre I adore. It features a really good cast led by Wolf Creek's John Jarratt. And speaking of Mr. Jarratt, he also appears in another killer Aussie croc movie, 2007's Rogue, which would make a great double feature with Dark Age. You can watch this on YouTube, but this really needs a Region A HD release. It never even received a DVD release in North America. There was a rumor that Synapse was planning on putting this out at some point, but that was several years ago, and nothing ever came of it. As I mentioned before, the VHS was issued by Charter Home Video and the credits identified the film as an RKO production, and I have no clue who currently owns the rights to that library of films.

Anyone else a fan of this one?

[Leslie Dame]

Love this movie. It finally had it's official DVD (worldwide I believe?) debut in Germany in May. Dark Age is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen including English audio. There's also a audio commentary included, cover art doesn't mention it, or who does the commentary.

[anephric]

It came out on R4 Aussie DVD a fair while ago.

[FlyBry]

It's got that one death scene that will always stay with me. It was so shocking to me when I saw this as a child, I've never forgotten it. I guess it was because there seemed to be a unspoken rule of 80s American movies to never

[Show spoiler]kill the f___ing kid.

[theprestige85]

John Jarratt as in Mick from Wolf Creek???

[FlyBry]

You bet.

[theprestige85]

Rar, I might have to watch that just for him then because he was terrifying in Wolf Creek and funny.

Take it he is one of the good guys in this though?

[FlyBry]

Yeah, he's the hero!

[theprestige85]

Ah, wicked. That'll be interesting to see that other side of him. In other words, he's 'da winaaaa'.

[FlyBry]

I got tired of waiting for a U.S. release so I finally caved and ordered the Aussie DVD for less than 10 Australian dollars. Also, I found a interesting review online that states this is a region-free, as well as a NTSC release, so fans of the film shouldn't have to worry about problems playing it. I have a region-free player so I will confirm when my copy arrives. It's not HD, but it is probably the best will get for a long time.

Another interesting note from that internet review was that Quentin Tarantino is a huge fan of the film and supposedly owns the only known 35mm print of Dark Age. Come on, QT. This would be a great title to relaunch Rolling Thunder Films.