If you're looking for something with thrills, scares, and excitement, I suggest looking elsewhere. However, if you enjoy counterproductive attacks on wildlife and a pointless order of events, Nature's Grave may be a fulfilling feature. The unoriginal idea that director Jamie Blanks develops is less than adequate and never once grasps the suspense it strives for.
I haven't seen the original Australian film, Long Weekend, of which this is a remake, but perhaps I will to see what exactly writer Everett De Roche tried to improve on. Not much happens in its time span and what does happen isn't very captivating. Therefore, I suspect that the original is better than this renovated version.
After an incident that leaves them on the verge of ending their relationship, Peter (Jim Caviezel) and Marcia (Claudia Karvan) plan a camping trip to a secluded beach in hopes to find solid ground in their marriage. After taking an unmarked path that leads to the untouched beach, things immediately become strange when the intruders begin treating Mother Nature and the wildlife indecently. Nature then decides to retaliate with brute force and escape is not an option.
The acting is questionable, the point rummaged for is beyond reason, and the stop and go momentum is one of its weakest aspects. On the plus side, the Australian scenery is ravishing and it features possibly the best vehicular manslaughter I have ever seen. But it certainly isn't worth having to sit through the entire film just to get to that one jaw-dropping moment and, in the near future, the film will be erased from memory entirely.
Though Jamie Blanks has done work such as guilty pleasure Urban Legend, this film falls short of being a pleasure and in the course of time shall be plain guilty for existing. I had low expectations and Nature's Grave couldn't even satisfy those. And where the ad campaign got the phrase "in tradition of The Birds and Anaconda" from is beyond me. I think it's time that filmmakers stop remaking classic horror films and maybe come up with something new at hand, which is exactly what horror fans are looking for. Something new, innovative, and gruesome. Nature's Grave lacks all these aspects, including cogent acting and an interesting script to boot.
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