A smart, savvy horror movie -- let's bury it

Why do generic horror movies like "Prom Night" enjoy a wide release while a hidden gem like "Rogue" can barely sneak into a theater near you?

"Rogue," from Greg McLean of "Wolf Creek" fame, is far better than a good 80 percent of modern horror movies, and that's a conservative estimate.

It sure sounds dopey on the surface - who needs another killer crocodile story? But the film's power is in the execution.

Michael Vartan stars as a Chicago travel writer checking out a guided boat tour of the Australian territories. The trip starts out innocently enough, with a few snapping crocodiles along the way for local color and banter from the pretty tour guide (Radha Mitchell). But a "rogue" crocodile rams the boat, sending its inhabitants into the water. They scramble to the nearest patch of land, but the rising tide will soon leave them exposed to the oversized croc.

McLean's mastery of the Australian scenery gives "Rogue" a beauty most horror films can't match, and Vartan is ideal as the stoic, if slightly bland, hero. And who wouldn't fight off a dozen crocodiles to save the beguiling Mitchell?

"Rogue" doesn't play the material for laughs like other croc movies before it, and its leisurely pacing gives us time to get to know, and care, about the people in harm's way.

Some horror junkies won't applaud the lack of gore, but the market is flooded with grade B thrillers which all but splash us with faux blood. Who needs severed limbs and entrails when you've got genuine thrills and a score that sounds imported from a movie with quadruple the budget?

Neil Marshall followed up his terrific horror film "The Descent" with the (allegedly) awful "Doomsday" (I haven't seen it yet but most reviews trashed it). But McLean proves with "Rogue" that he knows exactly how to deliver a chilling encore.

(Photo: Radha Mitchell screams for her life in "Rogue")