Dark Age (film)

Dark Age
Theatrical film poster
Directed by	Arch Nicholson
Produced by	Antony I. Ginnane
Written by	Sonia Borg Tony Morphett Stephen Cross
Based on	Numunwari by Grahame Webb
Starring	John Jarratt Nikki Coghill Max Phipps Burnam Burnam David Gulpilil
Music by	Danny Beckerman
Cinematography	Andrew Lesnie
Edited by	Adrian Carr
Production company	RKO F.G. Film Productions
Release date	July 10, 1987
Running time	91 mins
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	A$4,808,232

Dark Age is a 1987 Australian horror adventure film directed by Arch Nicholson, produced by Antony I. Ginnane and starring John Jarratt.

Steve Harris (John Jarratt) is a ranger who has been assigned to deal with a massive saltwater crocodile that's been attacking and killing people in the Northern Territory. He finds himself at odds with the local Aborigines, who believe the crocodile should be preserved since it contains the spirit of their past. Steve must develop a plan to respect the wishes of the Aborigines and also protect the residents threatened by the crocodile.

The film was part of a two-picture deal between executive producer Antony I. Ginnane and Hollywood studio RKO which also included The Lighthorsemen. Shooting took place five weeks in Cairns and one week in Alice Springs, starting 22 April 1986.

The movie was never seen in Australia theatrically and took a long time to be seen on DVD.

Despite no approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes currently, the film has a 39% Audience Score. Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews gave a positive review, calling the film "well-produced and acted, and an intelligent environmental adventure film results."

Quentin Tarantino spoke enthusiastically of the film in the documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!, commenting "You could re-release Dark Age in 2,000 screenings and people would go see it." In 2009, Tarantino hosted a screening for it in Sydney.