Underwater is a 2020 science fiction film that reminds me of a number of other films I love and enjoyed very much.
Synopsis
A crew of engineers and scientists are stationed under the ocean at a great depth. The station suddenly shakes and gets wrecked, initially thought to be due to an earthquake. The crew tries to resurface via space pods only to find that none of them are available. But not all hope is lost, if they can make it to another establishment at a distance of one mile. And to achieve that they have to walk on the ocean surface in pressurized suits. They can hopefully resurface from there. As they continue along that plan… they encounter a violent humanoid aquatic species that were previously unknown to humans.
They are now hunted.
If this plot-line and the trailer reminds you of Cameron’s The Abyss and Scott’s The Alien, you wouldn’t be far off the mark. The film essentially follows the pattern the first Alien film set before and almost never deviates from it.
Which might be dubbed as a bad thing and perhaps it is. However, it also incorporates similar suspense that engulfs us the moment we forgive it for being a cliche film. In all honesty, this film is not aiming to be the next alien film in terms of innovation, rather it wants to entertain and in that regard it delivers.
There are a few things I must praise here. In a film like this, do you recall the first few minutes where the crew are usually introduced to one another and how they joke around being all jolly? Well, none of that happens here, you get to the action right off the bat.
The cast is quite believable and Christen Stewart as the lead nails it. I don’t know why, but seeing her acting the past few years makes me happy.
Oh, how people used to dismiss her. Heck, I'm guilty of doing that.
If you’re wondering about whether the trailer ruined the entire film for you, don’t worry, it only shows the gist of the first portion. Although, it won't be too hard to guess the rest but wouldn't you want to experience it yourself?
The movie is linear and philosophically falls short. You might not even care for other characters except for the protagonist and even that is a big if. However, directed by William eubank, it's rather well made as a guilty pleasure flick. It looks like he (the director) wanted to give it a lovecraftian twist. That worked out pretty well.
If you’re looking for a laid back afternoon with a tight adventure movie that doesn’t promise much but will entertain you anyway, this is it.
Check out the trailer here.
Check out my review of To Be or Not To Be here.
