For the last few years, I've been reviewing at least one shark movie for
each summer, where all of them were absolute crap. And considering that I
previously reviewed two terrible Dinosaur flicks in a row, I'm going to review
a shark movie that actually got positive reviews when it first came out, and
that movie is...
Critics everywhere (including the late Roger Ebert) were praising the film for its scary realism of two divers being stranded in the middle of the Caribbean Sea full of sharks after accidentally being left behind by a boat carrying 20 diver’s total. The film itself also did pretty well at the Box-Office. But the reaction among audiences however was divided, as some loved it for its terror, as others hated it for being boring and cheap, instead of scary. I only saw it once as a teen in Middle School, and I remember enjoying it fine, and being caught up in the suspense. But after so many years of not seeing it, and hardly ever hearing anybody (including film buffs) talk about the film, is it as good as people made out to be at the time, or was it never anything special to begin with where it was just simply over-hyped? ON WITH THE REVIEW!
When I watched the first 10 minutes of the film, I found myself being quickly bored by it. The film's low-budget look didn't look that visually interesting (even when we see them chilling in the Bahamas'). The characters were far from captivating. And the pacing almost felt like that 20 minutes went by instead of 10. There's even a pointless scene of them being naked in bed with each other, which just feels there for sex appeal, and nothing more. I actually remember the first 10 minutes moving quickly when I saw this as a teen; as opposed to dragging on. When I finally saw them hop aboard the boat to go Scuba diving with a group of tourists, that's when I found myself interested in the film's plot. This whole sequence makes up for the boredom that was presented in the first ten minutes of the movie, as we are treated to some beautiful underwater shots of our characters interacting with colorful sea creatures that carries the enchantment and thrill of Scuba diving as if you are underwater with them. There are even a few entertaining supporting characters during the trip such as the crew member who tells everyone on the voyage the rules, and a passenger who's played for comic-relief (Who isn’t funny, but still entertaining). You do still find yourself aware of what’s going to happen to this couple as you are watching them have fun, but just like how the characters are enjoying the underwater beauty without a care in the world, you too feel just as carefree as they are when watching all of this.
Once the boat is ready to leave without the two divers that are still in the water, that's when things start to get intense. The rest of the movie as we watch the couple try to survive in the water is full of nothing but undying suspense. Every single moment you spend with them in the ocean is simply breathtaking. The film's low-budget quality of having it all shot with a digital-cam actually works better than you would give it credit for. It almost feels as if you are watching a home movie, which just adds to realism of the situation. And despite how simplistic the choice of using a digital-camera sound, they still manage to get many good shots and angles that suck you into the atmosphere of feeling stranded in the middle of the ocean with these characters. Some of it does reminiscence "JAWS", but they don't feel like its intentionally ripping-off the film. The film's story and the way it’s all shot and paced does feel like its own thing. The film doesn't even have much of a score, it mostly lacks in terms of score, and the majority of music that you hear in the movie is music that you would hear in the Bahamas’. Now the instrumental music that is composed for the film works great with the suspense and emotion that's taken place in front of us, but it’s really the lack of music that makes the situation so intense. The most suspenseful scene in the movie that's shot at an extreme horrifying level is the storm sequence as one of them gets attacked by a shark, where we can only see the attack and character's suffering from the attack through the flash of lighting since the scene takes place at night. We hardly see the attack, but it’s the vagueness of it that makes it so scary.
The choice of casting two actors who aren't well known helps a great deal to the terrifying realism that surrounds the film, and the surprising part is, they're not bad. Granted the character's themselves are nothing special, but you do still find yourself caring about them, mainly because their interaction and dialogue that their given doesn't come off as unnatural or corny. You do believe that they are real people instead of characters; you do feel like that the stress and fear that they have of the situation is legit. There's never a sense that these actors are just half-assing it, or simply phoning everything in. It all feels natural. Actually the actors themselves were at times legitimately afraid. Why you may ask? Well being filmed in the water with actual sharks circling around them might be the primary reason for it. Yes, the film doesn't use any special effects for the sharks at all; they are all in fact real sharks. Even the sea critters that harm them are just as real as the sharks are. It is in some respects disappointing that we don't see them harm the characters on-screen that much, since they are real animals. But it’s the directing and the acting that makes it forgivable, especially when you don't know where they are, or when they're going to attack. What I find amazing about the film's suspense is even though I knew how the film ended from both times I watched this movie, I still found myself so wrapped-up into the terror that I was hoping that they would somehow make it out of this ok. Just seeing a boat pass by them, or seeing them drift near a buoy just leaves you in a state of hope for their chance to get out of this situation, even when knowing the overall outcome.
What I remember the advertisements for the film constantly promoting before and during its release was that the film is "BASED ON TRUE EVENTS". The film itself even starts out with that slogan before we see the opening credits, or meet our characters. And incase if you're wondering how true it is to the events that the film is based on, its very loosely. But given the little facts that the director and writers had to work with, it’s not all that surprising that plenty of liberties are going to be taken into account. I think the main reason why a good half of audiences weren't into this movie is how slow it moves. Even though the tension is always heart-pounding, the pacing is still very slow, despite being an hour and 16 minute film. And since the film is shot on a very low-budget, and is mostly taken place out in the ocean with not so interesting characters that has little to no on-screen shark action, if you're not caught up in the suspense that the film carries, then you're really going to hate this movie! I do think the thrills that this movie has are great, but I'm not going to act like that I don't understand where the hate for this movie is coming from. I personally don't mind the slow pace, I think it works towards the film's advantage (Even in the first 10 minutes since you need to slow things down to make the scenes of them being lost at sea effective), but that doesn't mean I can’t see why the film's slow pace can turn people off, especially if they're not into films like this.
Critics everywhere (including the late Roger Ebert) were praising the film for its scary realism of two divers being stranded in the middle of the Caribbean Sea full of sharks after accidentally being left behind by a boat carrying 20 diver’s total. The film itself also did pretty well at the Box-Office. But the reaction among audiences however was divided, as some loved it for its terror, as others hated it for being boring and cheap, instead of scary. I only saw it once as a teen in Middle School, and I remember enjoying it fine, and being caught up in the suspense. But after so many years of not seeing it, and hardly ever hearing anybody (including film buffs) talk about the film, is it as good as people made out to be at the time, or was it never anything special to begin with where it was just simply over-hyped? ON WITH THE REVIEW!
When I watched the first 10 minutes of the film, I found myself being quickly bored by it. The film's low-budget look didn't look that visually interesting (even when we see them chilling in the Bahamas'). The characters were far from captivating. And the pacing almost felt like that 20 minutes went by instead of 10. There's even a pointless scene of them being naked in bed with each other, which just feels there for sex appeal, and nothing more. I actually remember the first 10 minutes moving quickly when I saw this as a teen; as opposed to dragging on. When I finally saw them hop aboard the boat to go Scuba diving with a group of tourists, that's when I found myself interested in the film's plot. This whole sequence makes up for the boredom that was presented in the first ten minutes of the movie, as we are treated to some beautiful underwater shots of our characters interacting with colorful sea creatures that carries the enchantment and thrill of Scuba diving as if you are underwater with them. There are even a few entertaining supporting characters during the trip such as the crew member who tells everyone on the voyage the rules, and a passenger who's played for comic-relief (Who isn’t funny, but still entertaining). You do still find yourself aware of what’s going to happen to this couple as you are watching them have fun, but just like how the characters are enjoying the underwater beauty without a care in the world, you too feel just as carefree as they are when watching all of this.
Once the boat is ready to leave without the two divers that are still in the water, that's when things start to get intense. The rest of the movie as we watch the couple try to survive in the water is full of nothing but undying suspense. Every single moment you spend with them in the ocean is simply breathtaking. The film's low-budget quality of having it all shot with a digital-cam actually works better than you would give it credit for. It almost feels as if you are watching a home movie, which just adds to realism of the situation. And despite how simplistic the choice of using a digital-camera sound, they still manage to get many good shots and angles that suck you into the atmosphere of feeling stranded in the middle of the ocean with these characters. Some of it does reminiscence "JAWS", but they don't feel like its intentionally ripping-off the film. The film's story and the way it’s all shot and paced does feel like its own thing. The film doesn't even have much of a score, it mostly lacks in terms of score, and the majority of music that you hear in the movie is music that you would hear in the Bahamas’. Now the instrumental music that is composed for the film works great with the suspense and emotion that's taken place in front of us, but it’s really the lack of music that makes the situation so intense. The most suspenseful scene in the movie that's shot at an extreme horrifying level is the storm sequence as one of them gets attacked by a shark, where we can only see the attack and character's suffering from the attack through the flash of lighting since the scene takes place at night. We hardly see the attack, but it’s the vagueness of it that makes it so scary.
The choice of casting two actors who aren't well known helps a great deal to the terrifying realism that surrounds the film, and the surprising part is, they're not bad. Granted the character's themselves are nothing special, but you do still find yourself caring about them, mainly because their interaction and dialogue that their given doesn't come off as unnatural or corny. You do believe that they are real people instead of characters; you do feel like that the stress and fear that they have of the situation is legit. There's never a sense that these actors are just half-assing it, or simply phoning everything in. It all feels natural. Actually the actors themselves were at times legitimately afraid. Why you may ask? Well being filmed in the water with actual sharks circling around them might be the primary reason for it. Yes, the film doesn't use any special effects for the sharks at all; they are all in fact real sharks. Even the sea critters that harm them are just as real as the sharks are. It is in some respects disappointing that we don't see them harm the characters on-screen that much, since they are real animals. But it’s the directing and the acting that makes it forgivable, especially when you don't know where they are, or when they're going to attack. What I find amazing about the film's suspense is even though I knew how the film ended from both times I watched this movie, I still found myself so wrapped-up into the terror that I was hoping that they would somehow make it out of this ok. Just seeing a boat pass by them, or seeing them drift near a buoy just leaves you in a state of hope for their chance to get out of this situation, even when knowing the overall outcome.
What I remember the advertisements for the film constantly promoting before and during its release was that the film is "BASED ON TRUE EVENTS". The film itself even starts out with that slogan before we see the opening credits, or meet our characters. And incase if you're wondering how true it is to the events that the film is based on, its very loosely. But given the little facts that the director and writers had to work with, it’s not all that surprising that plenty of liberties are going to be taken into account. I think the main reason why a good half of audiences weren't into this movie is how slow it moves. Even though the tension is always heart-pounding, the pacing is still very slow, despite being an hour and 16 minute film. And since the film is shot on a very low-budget, and is mostly taken place out in the ocean with not so interesting characters that has little to no on-screen shark action, if you're not caught up in the suspense that the film carries, then you're really going to hate this movie! I do think the thrills that this movie has are great, but I'm not going to act like that I don't understand where the hate for this movie is coming from. I personally don't mind the slow pace, I think it works towards the film's advantage (Even in the first 10 minutes since you need to slow things down to make the scenes of them being lost at sea effective), but that doesn't mean I can’t see why the film's slow pace can turn people off, especially if they're not into films like this.
After reviewing so many crappy shark movies in the past, I'm completely surprised that there's actually a good one out there that stands on its own. I think the primary reason for that is because it’s mostly centered on the survival of the characters, than it is centered on the sharks waiting for their chance to eat them. But while being more of a survival flick, instead of a shark flick, since one of the main fears of the movie involve sharks this still counts as a shark movie and a very suspenseful one if I may add. It’s not as great of a masterpiece as the ultimate shark film "JAWS", but as far as shark movies go this one comes close to being almost as scary as the master of shark movies that can never be topped. It’s a pity that people hardly talk about it or watch it anymore, because I do think it’s a highly underrated movie. It’s clearly not for everyone, but it is still one of a kind.
RATING 5/5
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