leethomas-11621 Couldn't watch last 20 minutes when everything becomes anti-climactic. Potentially good plot becomes implausible. Pity because setting and acting are good. Main problem is our credulity at group's incompetence or their pacifity when confronted with main character's villainy. I'd have loved to support this more as the actors do their best in a unique setting but the script let them down. Comparable to the much better Dead Calm.

Woodyanders Crazed raging psycho Bull (a genuinely scary, intense, and convincing performance by Ben Oxenbould) terrorizes a handful of surfers on a yacht. Director Adam Blaiklock, who also co-wrote the engrossing script with Joe Velikovsky and Matt Tomaszewski, relates the gripping story at a brisk place, firmly grounds the premise in a credible everyday world, draws the believable characters with real depth, and gradually builds the suspense to a nerve-wracking fever pitch in the harrowing last third. The fine acting by the bang-up cast keeps this movie afloat: Daisy Betts as the feisty Sam, Sam Lyndon as the easygoing Rob, Simon Lyndon as the wimpy Toobs, Leeanna Walsman as the concerned Alex, Harry Cook as likable lunk Archie, and Peter Phelps as the no-nonsense Skipper Joe. Moreover, this picture acquires an extra potent edge and impact from the fact that everything that occurs is within the realm of possibility; the plot unfolds in a realistic and plausible, yet not entirely predictable and thus surprising manner. Damian Wyvill's bright widescreen cinematography provides a sumptuous shiny look and offers lots of breathtaking shots of the gorgeous ocean. Tom Schutzinger's spare score is both subtle and effective. A seaworthy item.

Wuchak "Caught Inside" (2010) is an Australian psychological thriller about a group of surfers who sail to a remote island paradise for vacation. A couple of women join the expedition at the last moment and they bring out the animal in one particular surfer and the holiday turns into a torturous adventure.What I liked about this film, aside from the professional fimmaking and paradisical locations (Maldives), was the realism of the story and characters. The film skirts the borders of the slasher genre and I'm sure it was tempting for the writers to have the psycho (Ben Oxenbould) morph into Jason Vorhees, but they wisely resisted.***SPOILER ALERT*** Someone complained on the message board about how unbelievable it was at one point when a group of four or five from the expedition "cowardly" put up with the psycho's tormenting antics when he doesn't even have a weapon. But this is where the film shines as a PSYCHOLOGICAL thriller and not just a thriller. Bull, the psycho, had gained the upper hand by this point in the story. The others are literally afraid of him and fearing for their lives. They're also in shock since this was supposed to be a paradise surfing vacation. The blond guy with short hair tried to scrap with Bull a couple of times and was easily humbled, not to mention beat up. It's a mental thing. Bull is the king of the mountain at this juncture -- "king" by brute force and arrogance alone. One of the girls, Sam, is anticipating getting raped and who knows what else. The teen dude doesn't know what to do, since he was Bull's little buddy, but now he sees what a total psycho he is. So they're all afraid and considering their options. No doubt they're thinking of ganging up on him, but they simply don't have it in them at this moment, so they endure his tormenting antics. They're also waiting for the right opportunity when their chances of success are best.I didn't find this unbelievable at all; in fact, I found it very realistic.***END SPOILER***If you like films like the excellent "Dead Calm" (1989), be sure to check out "Caught Inside." It's not as good, but it comes respectfully close.By the way, the Australian accents are thick so I recommend using the subtitles.The film runs 93 minutes.GRADE: B

willydrama Surfers head out to catch some waves and a power struggle unfolds on a sailing boat. That's the premise of this feature film, which would have benefited from some extra editing. Ben Oxenbould does a great job as your typical testosterone filled Aussie dickhead, who, much like the screenwriter of this movie, seems to be losing the plot quite often. Sam, the female lead who gets a kick out of manipulating people, seems to be equally creepy as Bull (Oxenbould) but the film only threads down this path very lightly. The other characters are pretty one dimensional and the focus stays on Bull, who's up there with other great on-screen sociopaths. The low budget can't be blamed for a missed Oscar opportunity but rather the way the story is presented to the viewer.Recommended for that holiday trip with friends and foes.