Movie Review: Underwater

The new horror film Underwater is a piece so devoid of entertainment value that you may find yourself yearning for the understated elegance of a film like DeepStar Six (1989) or even the subtlety of similar fare like Leviathan (1989). In the end however, this is little more than a collection of nods to far superior films and an examination of what happens when everyone making a movie seems to have lost interest in doing so before the opening credits have even been completed.

The plot of Underwater follows a group of scientists as they try desperately to get to safety when their underwater laboratory complex (which seems to made mostly of concrete for some inexplicable reason—in fact, it more closely resembles an abandoned high school than it does an underwater research facility) is damaged by an apparent earthquake (though this is less effectively shown than it is simply stated as something that has happened, always a sign of good things to follow in a visual medium like this) all while avoiding a recently awakened subterranean monster.

Director William Eubank, who previously delivered forgettable fare like The Signal (2014) and Love (2011), fails to find anything surprising within himself here and, in fact, seems bored from the onset as the film begins with a similarly disinterested and detached narration from star Kristen Stewart, as Ripley rip-off Norah, waxing philosophically about the perils of the rig and persistently pondering the nature of existence or some such dribble before all hell breaks loose and the aforementioned fight for survival begins.

Kristen Stewart in “Underwater.”

But, the blame for this hodge-podge of better films and ideas should certainly not fall solely upon the shoulders of either star or director. The screenwriting team of Brian Duffield and Adam Cozad are partly to blame as well as they add nothing to the mix with a bland note-by-note Alien (1979) rip-off that doesn’t even have the courtesy to deliver a satisfactory antagonist after forcing the poor audience to sit through the film’s pondering 95-minute running time.

As Norah, Stewart does her best to serve as the heroine of this cumbersome film, but there’s very little she can do with what she’s given in terms of both story and direction. Similarly, wasted talent like Vincent Cassell and relatively effective comic relief provided by T.J. Miller amount to little more than fodder to move the film slowly along to the gorier aspects of the story, which themselves do little to raise the piece’s intrinsic value or appeal.

Ultimately, Underwater comes across as a wasted opportunity that could possibly have proven itself a respectable thriller or even a decent genre film had it been handled with a more delicate touch and perhaps a bit less plodding through a nonsensical and predictable plot.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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