Movie Review: "Underwater" (2020)
Most of the time when a movie from a major studio (20th Century Fox) with a hefty budget (eighty million dollars) takes three years to finally see a movie screen it’s a bad sign. Throw in controversial/disgraced actor, T.J. Miller (accused of sexual assault) and you’re surely in for a shit show, right? And the dreaded January release?! Surely you can’t be serious…
While it doesn’t appear that Underwater will be lighting it up at the box office (Box Office Mojo has it sitting at about seven million dollars right now at the close of the weekend), that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a good time to be had in the darkness 7 miles below the surface.
I’m as surprised as you are, honestly.
Norah (Kristen Stewart; Twilight series) is a mechanical engineer aboard the Kepler, the control center of a deep sea drilling expedition in the fabled Mariana trench. The titular monster tool is the Roebuck, a.k.a. the biggest drill in the history of ever, designed to bore out insane amounts of earth in search of material riches. Before you can blink, the entire structure is struck by what the crew first believes to be an earthquake. Norah narrowly escapes the rapidly collapsing edifice with Rodrigo (Mamoudou Athie; The Circle), rescuing Paul (T.J. Miller; Deadpool 2) on the way to meet up with Emily (Jessica Henwick; Game of Thrones), Smith (John Gallagher Jr; 10 Cloverfield Lane), and Captain Lucien (Vincent Cassel; Black Swan). The remaining survivors are faced with two undeniable truths: their only hope is a miles long walk across the trench floor…and it wasn’t an earthquake that struck their rig.
As a Lovecraft devotee, I’m always down for a good deep sea horror flick. I also had a rather terrifying thing happen to me at Myrtle Beach when I was about 8 or 9 where I drifted out too far and had to be brought back in after a small trip out to sea. So, yeah- aquatic horror has an effect on me. I’m pretty Teflon when it comes to being scared by virtually all types of horror, but the ocean freaks me out. That’s my confession of weakness. You’re welcome.
Underwater wastes no time in turning the tension and intensity up to eleven. The getting to know you period of base character development is completely thrown out the window in favor of an exploding nightmare at the three-minute mark, and it’s a lovely move for both pacing and shock value. The characters here are archetypes at best, paper thin at worst. For that matter, the story beats and visual hallmarks (Stewart spends a lot of time Ripley-ing it up in her underwear, for example) are all shallow or cribbed from other films. It’s a very unoriginal film in those regards. It even comes complete with the “we don’t belong down here…we’re meddling with things best left alone” theme.
The funny part is that Underwater does all the things it needs to do right and proper. The tension stays nice and taut throughout 95-minute runtime. The creature FX (one practical and a ton of VFX) are suitably Lovecraftian and menacing. The trench floor setting is every bit as dark as you’d think, but it’s not dark on the level of, say, The Battle of Winterfell; there are plenty of light flashes and underwater lights to keep the horror just visible enough. The set design, both in the suits and the rig interiors, are straight out of the late ‘80s aquatic craze of films like Deep Star Six, Leviathan, and The Abyss. If anything, Underwater is equal parts homage and throwback to that Hollywood trend.
The biggest accomplishment of Underwater its technical competence, brisk pace, and solid tension throughout. The biggest surprise is how likable Kristen Stewart is in a blatant Ripley ripoff. She’s always low-key terrified, but she grits her teeth and plows forward with a sigh and the ghost of a grin. It’s the first time I’ve ever been impressed by her nuances and skill. That’s a relief, too- you don’t want to label someone with just their early work. No one should have to live under the shadow of Twilight for their whole career. She gives a damn fine performance here and deserves recognition for it.
At the end of the day, Underwater probably won’t make money with that budget, but the surprisingly good reviews (especially in the horror community) are a decent indicator that its one of those films that may find an audience and a second life on streaming after a dismal theatrical run. I mean, there’s something refreshing about a big studio outing that delivers fun deep sea terror with competence and a bit of flair without overstaying its welcome or trying to do too much.
That’s a neat little trick in and of itself.
