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The Reef: Stalked follows Nick (Teresa Leanne) who, after her older sister’s murder, goes on a kayaking adventure to a Pacific island with her two best friends and her younger sister. However, just hours into their journey, the four women are chased by a shark and must work together to survive. There are countless shark movies that explore the struggle for survival against the dangers of the ocean, but The Reef: Stalked brings something exciting to the genre.
The Reef: Stalked explores many serious topics including PTSD, grief and domestic violence beyond the usual shark attacks. The Reef: Stalked is also unique in that the film has an all-female cast.
THE REEF: CUT OUT STAR TALKS ABOUT HOW FILM DEALS WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND PTSD
During our interview with Teresa Liane, who plays Nick, she revealed what drew her to it The Reef: Stalked. Teresa explained how she connected with Nick’s character and her excitement to be in an all-female shark movie.
“I think the character was the first thing that really drew me in when I was reading the script. At first it was like that, I was separated from him, but then the more I read it, I saw myself as that person. And just the way she went about things was something that I really felt connected to, weirdly. And then I guess the obvious thing is that there’s this group of women who are the ensemble of that. I liked that they were pretty much the focus of the movie. It’s the shark genre, but I really enjoyed their journey together and also individually what they were going through.”
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The Reef: Stalked deals with some surprisingly heavy themes beyond the intense shark attack element. Teresa Liane’s character, Nick, lost his sister to domestic violence. It’s clear that while she and their friends may have suspected there was something wrong with the relationship, they weren’t aware of the extent of the danger to her. During our interview, Teresa Liane revealed that at one point the script involved not only the aftermath, but the domestic violence itself.
“So that was something that ended up happening where originally the script had more of the domestic violence in that earlier part of the movie, but I actually prefer the way it ended. Where it isn’t necessarily, watching it isn’t even something the audience might need or want to see. It actually realizes what that impact is and the message is the fact that what happened because of that is this great loss. That is the tragedy. So, I think the sense of instant grief with all the characters was really strong, I thought.”
The Reef: Stalked also explores Nick’s post-traumatic stress disorder from finding her sister’s body. Nick’s sister was drowned by her abusive boyfriend, and because of this, Nick has a new water phobia. At the beginning of The Reef: Stalked Nick and her sister love the water and frequent water adventures with their close friends. Exploring the aftermath of not only Nick’s grief, but also the trauma of finding her sister and her best friend is a fascinating part of her arc. During the interview with Teresa Lian, she talked about the research she did to portray a character struggling with PTSD in The Reef: Stalked.
“That was one of the first things I wanted to research. It was important to me to really get it right. I wanted it to be something that I understood how it performed, but also where the reasons might be and also what it felt like was important to me.
So, I did a lot of research on articles and magazines, but I also saw a bunch of footage and videos of people who had gone through things like domestic violence and trauma. And just how they exist and go about their days, living with this pain that won’t necessarily go away, but knowing that there are things they have to do every day while they’re still carrying this. That was a big part of my job.”
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The Reef: Stalked isn’t the usual shark movie, but it does feature the classic tropes of a shark hunting the main characters, it also explores PTSD, domestic violence, and is led by an all-female ensemble. The Reef: Stalked explores a compelling arc for star Teresa Lean as she must face not only the very real fear of the obvious dangers of the shark, but also her water-related PTSD. The Reef: Stalked brings an intriguing new element to the shark movie genre.
The Reef: Stalked is now available digitally and in select theaters. Are you excited to watch The Reef: Stalked? Are you a fan of shark movies? What do you think of a female-led shark movie? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or at our social media and check back with The Illuminerdi for more.
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