Underwater

by Eric S Brown

The horror sub genre of terror at the bottom of the ocean has always been popular. In the 1980s such classics as Deep Star Six and Levithan ruled the rental store shelves while the 1990s gave fans films like Deep Rising. Underwater is one of the latest films of this type. Released in 2020, Underwater did not fare well at the box office losing at least ten million dollars for the company that produced it and was panned by many critics as well.

Underwater‘s failure can be blamed on many things ranging from its lackluster acting to simply revisiting older tropes of the subgenre while failing to deliver anything new. That said, the film is watchable. Set in the year 2050, an undersea mining operation awakens a giant monster and its spawn from their slumber beneath the ocean floor. Its well shot with beautiful visuals and decent creature effects. These two aspects, however, fall far short of overcoming the rest of its problems.

Kristen Stewart’s performance as the film’s lead is pretty much cardboard. There is little if any real emotion evoked by her character. Without any stand out character to truly carry it, Underwater collapses upon itself, leaving the viewer disappointed and perhaps even angered by its contrived and unoriginal climax. As thus, if you’re in search of a good oceanic horror film perhaps check out Sea Fever instead. The title may sound tired and bland but Sea Fever is a far superior, equally modern film of the ocean horror subgenre.

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