Hi guys and welcome to a new 2020 review! Today I will be going back all the way back to the beginning of last year (ah remember the excitement for all the movies we thought were going to come out) with what was actually one of the very first relatively big, or high profile releases of the year which is Underwater. Now this was a movie that actually finished filming in 2017 and had been sitting on the shelf for a while largely because of the whole Disney Fox merger (and I think star, TJ Miller’s behavior had something to do with it as well though I’m not entirely sure) and then like a number of Fox movies released under the Disney banner it got unceremoniously dumped in January which is usually not a great sign. Due to little buzz, mixed reviews, and not much in the way of butts in the seats star power, it was unsurprisingly a flop and came and went like a lot of other horror films released around that same time. For me personally I thought the trailer looked intriguing (if a bit spoilery) and I really like Kristen Stewart as an actress so I had enough interest to check it out eventually which I finally did. Luckily I actually did end up having a good time with it and I don’t think it deserved to be this January dump as it is quite decent. Now let’s brave the depths of the ocean to see what made this a fun little undersea thriller.
Deep in the bottom of the Mariana Trench lies an active drilling station named Kepler 822 that is run by Tian Industries. It doesn’t take much time at all for an earthquake to hit the station and while part of the station is getting destroyed we follow a mechanical engineer named Norah who is able to narrowly escape the damage along with two other colleagues. They make their way to the escape pod bay where the captain decided to stay behind. Together they find some others and are unable to get in contact with anyone leaving them with limited options as the base slowly falls apart. So the captain suggests that the only way their getting out of this situation is to use some pressurized suits to walk 1 mile across the ocean floor to another part of the base in the hopes of re surfacing there. So they reluctantly decide to go for it unaware of the dangers that lurk among them.
The best way to describe this movie from a glance is essentially Alien by well underwater, and in some respects that is true as it does follow a team of workers who work for some big company and have stumbled into some terrifying creatures and get picked off one by one (okay there’s more to it than that but it’s the basic concept). Yet I wouldn’t call it a carbon copy as while yes it’s a familiar type of story that doesn’t go in any directions that are too surprising, it’s still a well told variation on the formula that gets the job done. It doesn’t waste anytime, getting straight to the situation and presents it efficiently while also giving us just enough character moments, and interactions to make us care about them when they have to face these mysterious creatures lurking beneath the sea. Plus it has a really nice atmosphere as well as really does feel like anything can some and harm our heroes at any moment and the visuals do a great job of making the setting like vast, and mysterious where anything can be lurking around. There are some scenes that do a drag on a bit mainly the ones setting up the jump scares but at the very least there were a number of effective ones (and some lazy ones as well) and again this isn’t re inventing the wheel but there is still enjoyment to be had and I will admit that without giving anything away, I was genuinely surprised by a couple of things that happened in the end and overall it mostly delivers what I expect a good horror move to deliver.
Also helping this movie is that it is well crafted, and looks very nice. The director of the was William Eubank who I’ve never really heard of (I believe he’s done a couple of other movies) but this was a very nice showcase of what he can do as a director as he does nice job crafting certain sequences making sure they have a lot of suspense to them as well as taking full advantage of the setting as the ocean I feel is a really great setting for a horror movie as there is so much potential for some creative scenarios, and a lot of suspense, and Eubank really captures the vast unknown of it very well whenever we’re outside of the facility. There are times where the constant close ups of the character’s faces can be a bit repetitive after a while but he still does solid work here on the whole. Other than that the VFX crew also did a nice job of bringing the setting making the audience feel like they’re underwater as well and the designs of the underwater creatures themselves a pretty cool even if the movie doesn’t really try to explain where or how they came to be (not necessarily a bad thing though as the movie doesn’t get bogged down in any mythology, and it just focuses on the plot at hand). Slight spoilers but I really liked the look of the giant creature that comes in the final act (apparently it’s the famous Lovecraft creature, Cthulu) as it looked creepy, and was revealed in a way that really showcases just how big of a threat our hero is facing. Speaking of which it is no surprise that Kristen Stewart once again gives another great performance as always. She does a good job selling Norah as this realist who wants to help everyone get out of this situation and she works well enough as an everywoman put in a very abnormal situation even if Stewart is the one that I feel elevates the character as she is an engaging presence. The other one who makes the most impression is Vincent Cassel as the Captain who gets some shades of being a very interesting character as he’s been down here so long he’s starting to forget certain things like the age of his child. An intriguing idea that doesn’t really get explored at all after it’s brought up once but Cassel is still very good here. Everyone else plays certain stock types like T.J. Miller is the main comic relief but unfortunately I found him more annoying than amusing while John Gallagher Jr. (Liam, an engineer for the Kepler), Jessica Henwick (Emily, a research assistant, and Liam’s girlfriend), and Mamoudou Athie (Paul, a drill worker) are all good in their respective roles and do what they can with the material given with Henwick’s character getting the most development. Best thing I can say is that they do a fine job showing off the team’s determination to get out together.
All in all, Underwater is a pretty solid little horror film that accomplishes what it sets out to do nicely. It doesn’t break any new ground for these types of story, the pacing can drag, certain scenes are a little too close up heavy, and the characters are serviceable enough if not anything too compelling but it mostly works thanks to an efficiently told story, a number of suspenseful sequences, some great visuals, and some solid performances. For those who like movies like this and just want some simple entertainment value this offers just that and is a fun time that stands on it’s own well enough. In the end it certainly didn’t deserve to be dumped like it was in the middle of January and I’m curious to see what this director does in the future and I’m looking forward to see what Kristen Stewart chooses for her next project as she’s proven time and again to be a great talent.
Rating: B-
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