6 young adults charter a boat to a remote island. Alex (Leeanna Walsman) and her boyfriend Toobs (Simon Lyndon). Sam (Daisy Betts) comes along as a friend to Alex. Rob (Sam Lyndon),Archie (Harry Cook) and Bull (Ben Oxenbould) round out the surfers. The captain is Skipper Joe (Peter Phelps).

Sam shows a preference to Rob to the dismay and rage of Bull. Bull's inappropriate high testosterone conduct lands him a "time out" by himself on Gilligan's Island while the rest of the party remains on the boat. Bull plans and then takes his revenge as this turns into an abduction film. Ben Oxenbould plays the role of Bull very well. He could well be on his way to being the Australian "David Hess" of abduction terror. Outside of Bull's character, the film really doesn't take off.

F-bombs, sex, no nudity.

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.

"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 a series of events turns the holiday 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 someone morph into Jason Voorhees, but they wisely resisted.

***SPOILER ALERT***

Someone complained 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. 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+