Underwater

Although Underwater is a mish-mash of everything we've seen many times in other  horror movies set under-the-sea (DeepStar Six, Leviathan) or in space, like a taster for the genre in which something constantly happens from beginning to end, it still kind of works. The screenplay features perhaps all the clichés of similar stories and contains a lot of holes in logic that could easily be unraveled if you want - but I don't want to. I guess I somehow let myself be lulled into following the movie for the revelation of the monster at the end, which seems to have fallen out of the stories of an unnamed author. The more one thinks about it, the more one thinks of how the movie could have been better if it had been worked on in a few places. Also, the reluctance of the creators to let the viewer breathe in silence on a dark wave after the end of the movie clearly undermined my experience, instead, they forcibly pasted a disgusting modern pop song over the end credits. This movie balances around a gray average. (01/11/2020)

This 1980s premise in a modern audiovisual conception is not bad, and it’s actually helped by the casting of Kristen Stewart, who might not be Ripley, but she doesn’t look half bad with a boyish haircut and in underwear. Another good thing is the absence of exposition and the breakneck pace that promises what is probably the most honest horror since Event Horizon, this time, though, in an attractive and nonetheless atmospheric submarine setting. But then there are things that are not downright horrible, but due to the darkness itself and the wild editing, you can barely see what’s happening in about 60% of the scenes, and the most action-packed passage is followed by a lull that irreparably pushes all the tension below the level of the excellent beginning. What is funny at times, too, is the total disregard of otherwise clearly defined physical laws, but that is something I can forgive as part of the premise. The monster is creepy, though a little too sci-fi (something terrifying could live at a depth of 11 km, but it should be more realistic) and the ending is fine. It’s ideal as something to watch with friends, but that’s all the praise I can give it. 65% (04/01/2020)

The best thing about Underwater is Kristen Stewart, and that’s not an exaggeration. The unusual image suited her speech very well. And the pop song in the closing credits is confirmation that the main intention was to draw in her fans. Atmospherically, the film works quite well and the way it dynamically draws the viewer into the plot is outstanding, but it gradually runs out of gas and shuffling around on the place is supposed to unleash the mediocre monsters. The motif of the environmental threat of drilling into the ocean floor isn’t exactly innovative and there is nothing here to make it anything special, so it just remains a worn-out cliché. (01/22/2020)

Underwater is most often compared to Alien (and rightly so, as some of the scenes are more than inspired), but I think the filmmakers would have been happy if it was also compared to Gravity. Indeed, several times they try to evoke the mood of the first film mentioned, several times the second, but somehow it doesn't come together and it's all only half as interesting. A number of scenes have a nice gloomy atmosphere but aren't very suspenseful. Some scenes are really well acted, like the one where a stressed Kristen Stewart recounts what happened to Vincent Cassel. And the final super-monster scene is fine too, although we don't really enjoy it and everything ends as expected. I was hoping it would be a little better. (01/11/2020)

A promising introduction. Although rather than a film, it resembles effective cinematics in a survival game that I would like to play, but it does fulfill its purpose. I am quite susceptible to underwater anxiety, so as long as something is going on, I'll enjoy a very flimsy expedition and a high amount of deliberately raw filming. But then… uh-oh. The alternative tagline should read: there is nothing to see under the water, which I would have preferred if it hadn't been accompanied by stupid and terribly confusing editing. It prevents a person from enjoying the underwater terror, because here and there, it is not clear where you are who you are actually watching. In addition, the characters are such dull, forgettable reflections. The perpetrator of terror has about five different forms and it is not entirely clear where the creators are trying to take us - to alternative underwater biology, or full-blown sci-fi horror? The conclusion rushes with the answer in the form of Lovecraft kohlrabi and I have to laugh. Mixing so many good things into such a dull goulash truly requires giant blenders. Unfortunately for Underwater, the film is full of them. It doesn't even work as a fun one-time watch. It’s about as much fun as snorkeling in a pond. Regarding B-movie flooding, I will continue to prescribe the beautiful Verne misstep, which has Balls. (01/11/2020)