Underwater Movie Review

6/10

In the near future where humanity delves deeper into the ocean than it was ever meant to, a group of researchers are fighting for their lives when their underwater base collapses during an earthquake. But was it an earthquake really? And what terrors await them when they venture to the bottom of the ocean floor trying to make it to safety.

UNDERWATER is a great example what may happen with an independent film maker when he gets more money to play with, but when the studio restrictions come with it. Director William Eubank, who helmed a mind-bending sci-fi movie THE SIGNAL, now dials down his artistry for the sake of the spectacle.

The plot had been done to death - ALIEN, THE THING, DEEP BLUE SEA, you name it. At the heart of it we have Christen Stewart's Norah, the protagonist, and in the first few minutes she is thrown into turmoil, making life changing decisions that will haunt her for the rest of the film. Her story is an interesting one, but it is dimmed and dulled by the rest of the cast - cardboard characters, each of them a survival horror movie cliché. Although the acting overall is pretty good, there's only so much that can be done with what the screenplay allows. There is plenty of mayhem on display, but the gore is toned down and there's nothing particularly inventive about the character's untimely dispatch.

There is good news too: the effects are fantastic and the sound is mesmerising. Marco Beltrami comes up with a score that resonates to the very core of the film, although you will not be humming a tune from it on the way out of the theatre. Eubank also hasn’t lost his touch, his visual style is recognisable and the concept of the creatures is intriguing, the full scale of what they are is not revealed for a while, and it is a vision to behold.

Focusing rather on action than claustrophobic dread and marvelling at monstrous creatures rather than making us afraid of them, UNDERWATER is a solid entertainment that sacrifices drama and originality for the pure spectacle.