Dark Age is a 1987 Australian horror-adventure film directed by Arch Nicholson and starring John Jarratt.
In the Northern Territory, a massive saltwater crocodile is killing people and park ranger and herpetologist Steve Harris (Jarratt) is assigned to kill it. Complicating matters is that Harris's best friend and leader of a local Aboriginal community, Oondabund (Burnum Burnum), protests killing the crocodile - named Numunwari - as it is believed by his tribe to be the embodiment of all their dead's souls. Harris intends to capture Numunwari, despite his superior's protests, which in turn is jeopardized by vengeful poacher John Besser (Max Phipps) who intends to murder the crocodile.
This movie provides examples of:
- An Arm and a Leg: Besser's arm is bitten off by the crocodile when he attempts to kill it, which only furthers his crusade to kill it.
- Asshole Victim: Most of the crocodile's victims are horrible people, including poachers and a thug who was violently assaulting an old man. The only exception is an Aboriginal child.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Numunwari, the crocodile killing people, and Besser, an Evil Poacher out to kill the crocodile, are both equal threats to the main cast.
- Bittersweet Ending: Numunwari is released further downriver away from humans and kills Besser in the process, but Oondabund is fatally wounded by one of Besser's men.
- Deadpan Snarker: Oondabund, who despite his broken English is quite good at making wry comments on the general stupidity of most of the ignorant and racist white men hunting the crocodile.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: A major plot point is the clash between the values of Oondabund's tribe and that of Western civilization.
- Evil Poacher: Besser and his men are both ruthless to a fault and poachers who make their living killing crocodiles and other animals along the river.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: There are hints that Numunwari could be a genuinely supernatural entity. Oondabund notes that the crocodile only targets those that are dying (the Aboriginal child, who had a lethal medical condition) or the evil (such as the Evil Poachers or the thug attacking an old man). Notably, Numunwari never targets any of the tribesmen or Harris despite having every opportunity to.
- Sanity Slippage: Besser was always an evil Jerkass, but he was mentally stable. After his arm is bitten off, he loses it and becomes obsessed with killing Numunwari, even trying to murder Harris and his friends to do it.
