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| Kristen Stewart as Nora Price in Underwater |
Underwater, is a
suspenseful deep-sea horror film that will have you at the edge of your seat
the entire time. It is directed by William Eubank and written by Brian Duffield
and Adam Cozad, and was the last film released by 20th Century Fox
before the Walt Disney Company changed its name to 20th-Century
Studios.
In
an industry which constantly explores the unknown, this film turns away from
outer space, instead goes to the depths of the sea. There is so much that we do
not know about the deepest places in our ocean, whereas almost anyone can tell
you about a black hole. Underwater focuses on a sparse cast of characters
surviving a series of disasters at the very bottom of the ocean, caused by
unknown and terrifying forces. The cast gets their job done admirably, and
works well together. Their characters travel through myriad settings and
catastrophes, each having unique characteristics that define them. For example,
Kristen Stewart’s mechanical engineer Nora Price has taken a job at the bottom
of the world to get over a failed relationship. Vincent Cassel’s Captain Lucien
is a devoted father with a mysterious and perhaps sinister past. T.J. Miller’s Paul Abel sometimes comes
across as a frat guy, but he has a softer, gentle side, as exemplified by the
stuffed rabbit he takes everywhere with him. And Jessica Henwick’s biologist Emily
Haversham is incredibly smart and loyal, but absolutely unprepared for crises.
Both
the plot and horror of the film are incredibly refreshing. It seems that most
horror films these days focus on creepy locations with forgettable casts. The
films in question don’t have much of a plot, and consist almost entirely of
interchangeable jump scares. When someone goes to the movies, they don’t want
to see something they can get at home by playing Five Nights at Freddy’s. They
want a provocative, unique experience. The earth is over 75% water, and yet we
know so little about what is beneath that water. Some films, like The Abyss,
have explored this from a science fiction angle. Underwater takes a deep, dark
look at the abject horrors of being helpless in the most remote part of the
world, seven miles deeper than the nearest help, under 1,071 times the normal
atmospheric pressure. This film also utilizes the latest in special effects to
realistically depict deepwater colonization in a near and possible future. Many
of the technologies in use, such as computers and transports, resemble our own
today and are not unrealistically futuristic.
The
one undeniable downside about this film is that, while mentioned, the context
is inserted in utterly cliché fashion. A series of corporate papers and
official documents over the opening credits describe that a company is drilling
the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the harshest, most forbidding place on our planet.
These documents go on to describe that those responsible for maintaining the
drill at the bottom of the ocean have suffered suppose it psychological damage,
which is passed on as hallucination and fatigue. At the end of the film, the
outcome is presented in a similar fashion. Nonetheless, in a film which focuses
almost entirely on horror, action, and suspense, one can forgive this light
exposition. The film is meant to thrill you, not teach you. You definitely will
be thrilled and horrified, at the edge of your seat for almost the full
ninety-five minutes.
It is common knowledge
that people fear what they do not understand. In an age when the surface of our
planet is no longer a stranger to us, and everyone is preoccupied with outer
space, Underwater provides a riveting tale of the deepest of the deep-sea, the
last frontier.
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