CREATURE FEATURE SNAPS UP A COVID OPPORTUNITY
A new croc thriller filmed on the Gold Coast is enjoying success with cinema-deprived UK movielovers, and it’s thanks in large part to the coronavirus pandemic, according to its director
THE director of a new creature feature film shot on the Gold Coast says its UK launch has been helped, not hindered, by COVID-19 due to a lack of competition.
Black Water: Abyss, which stars former Gold Coaster actor and now Hollywood success Luke Mitchell
(inset), debuted in UK cinemas last weekend.
The director, Andrew Traucki, said the premiere was a “success” and an opportunity that “came out of COVID”.
“A lot of the big studios are holding back because of COVID and that provided an opportunity for the film to go out,” he says. “It did well the first weekend. It was one of the top films in the cinemas. There weren’t many of them but it was one.”
Traucki, from Sydney, flew to Queensland to film the project in May 2019 for five weeks.
“The majority of the crew were from the Gold Coast,” he says.
“It was a good opportunity for Luke (Mitchell who returned home for the first time in a decade for the film). We didn’t have to put him up because he stayed with his mum on the Goldy. It was lovely for him because he got to spend time with his family.”
Black Water: Abyss, a sequel to Black Water (2007), premiered in
Australian cinemas on Thursday.
“I hope people enjoy the film. It’s spooky and scary and about one of those creatures that lives in Queensland, a crocodile,” Traucki says.
“Hopefully it’s a thrilling ride. It was great to film in Queensland.” Screen Queensland CEO Kylie
Munnich said: “The Australian and international cinema release of Black Water: Abyss puts the talent of our local crew on display for all Australia and the world, demonstrating that Queensland and its screen practitioners truly deliver on a global scale.”
The film created 100 jobs for Queensland crew and is estimated to have pumped $3.6 million into the state economy.