Sci-fi horror flick Underwater faced a long, bumpy road on its way to theaters. It was shot back in the spring of 2017, but bizarrely remained without a release date until May of last year as 20th Century Fox was in the process of being purchased by Disney. Nearly three years after principal photography commenced, Underwater has finally been freed from the holdover vault and surprise surprise, it's a very solid film that didn't deserve to sit on the shelf for so long.
Like most good creature-driven survival thrillers, Underwater doesn't spend any time dicking around with filler. By the time the 15 minute mark rolls around, an earthquake has hit a drilling rig that's stationed seven miles underwater and the surviving crew members (Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, Jessica Henwick, John Gallagher Jr., T.J. Miller, Mamondou Athie-who all do an admirable job of conveying the necessary combination of panic and well-timed courage) are forced to flee the wreckage and walk about a mile across the ocean floor with damaged equipment while holding out hope their company's other drilling station still has functional escape pods. This uphill battle to survive becomes even more dangerous when the group discovers that previously undiscovered sea monsters were responsible for the earthquake and might kill them before their insufficient oxygen supply gets the chance to.
Director William Eubank capitalizes on that quick start to make a suspenseful genre piece that never loses its momentum or succumbs to the maddening stupidity that has derailed some of the other recent man vs. unknown alien species movies (Life, The Cloverfield Paradox). Accompanied by an intense score and an eerie atmosphere provided by the lack of light that defines its setting, Eubank makes the bottom of the ocean feel like a vast yet claustrophobic space full of elusive, unimaginable terrors. Having the feeling that danger could potentially arrive at any second during the crew's already treacherous journey allows the jump scares/monster attacks to be very effective while also establishing a level of nuance that isn't overly common in this genre anymore. This relatively subdued approach to dealing with horrors that allude the grasp of mankind is undeniably indebted to sci-fi classics like Alien and The Thing, but the sustained, well-crafted tension that comes from it allows Underwater to emerge as 2020's first unexpected cinematic success story.
Like most good creature-driven survival thrillers, Underwater doesn't spend any time dicking around with filler. By the time the 15 minute mark rolls around, an earthquake has hit a drilling rig that's stationed seven miles underwater and the surviving crew members (Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, Jessica Henwick, John Gallagher Jr., T.J. Miller, Mamondou Athie-who all do an admirable job of conveying the necessary combination of panic and well-timed courage) are forced to flee the wreckage and walk about a mile across the ocean floor with damaged equipment while holding out hope their company's other drilling station still has functional escape pods. This uphill battle to survive becomes even more dangerous when the group discovers that previously undiscovered sea monsters were responsible for the earthquake and might kill them before their insufficient oxygen supply gets the chance to.
Director William Eubank capitalizes on that quick start to make a suspenseful genre piece that never loses its momentum or succumbs to the maddening stupidity that has derailed some of the other recent man vs. unknown alien species movies (Life, The Cloverfield Paradox). Accompanied by an intense score and an eerie atmosphere provided by the lack of light that defines its setting, Eubank makes the bottom of the ocean feel like a vast yet claustrophobic space full of elusive, unimaginable terrors. Having the feeling that danger could potentially arrive at any second during the crew's already treacherous journey allows the jump scares/monster attacks to be very effective while also establishing a level of nuance that isn't overly common in this genre anymore. This relatively subdued approach to dealing with horrors that allude the grasp of mankind is undeniably indebted to sci-fi classics like Alien and The Thing, but the sustained, well-crafted tension that comes from it allows Underwater to emerge as 2020's first unexpected cinematic success story.
Grade: B
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