In the Ocean Deep, No One can Hear You Scream!

Kaleidoscope's latest is on TSG Entertainment's & 20th Century Fox's production of "Underwater".  Directed by William Eubank, the movie stars Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, Jessica Henwick, TJ Miller, John Gallagher, Jr., & Mamoudou Athie.  Rated 'PG-13', it has a running time of 1 hr., 35 min.  

The film's meager exposition occurs during the opening credits.  Tian Industries drills 7 miles to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in search of natural resources.  Within seconds after the close of the opening credits, an earthquake strikes, & a section of Tian's Kepler 822 research section suffers a breach from the resulting pressure.  Norah (Stewart), who is a mechanical engineer, & Rodrigo (Athie), her assistant, manage to escape, temporarily preventing further damage.  They rescue a trapped Paul (Miller) & manage to get to the escape pod bay.  Unfortunately, they find that all of the pods have been activated; only Captain Lucien (Cassel) is still there.  The 4 reach a control base even tho parts of the Kepler are failing all around them  At the base are biologist Haversham (Henwick) & engineer Smith (Gallagher); they advise the 4 that they have been unable to contact the surface for help.  Lucien feels that their only hope is to put on pressurized suits & walk 1 mile on the ocean floor to Roebuck Station 641.  This concludes Act I as their treacherous journey begins.

Little known director Eubank ("The Signal") has crafted a taut, solid film that, altho it is short on exposition & a true plot, has enough tense moments to make it an exciting thriller that keeps the viewer glued to the screen for most of its 95 minutes.  Eubank films in tight close-ups that maximize the intense claustrophobic atmosphere that suits the film so well.  Interestingly, he uses many POV shots that help the viewer act as a extra member of the team.  Screenwriters Brian Duffield & Adam Cozad have written a concise, to-the-point screenplay that heavily focuses on situation & cause/effect while providing little characterization & narrative.  Normally, this would be a overriding detriment; however, in this type of horror/thriller where danger lurks around every corner, it works very well.  The dialogue is spare & cogent, if prosaic.  The film's success also lies in the performances.  In this reviewer's opinion, this is Stewart's best work in a long time.  It reminds me of her co-starring role as the daughter of Jodi Foster in David Fincher's "Panic Room".  Shorn of locks, tight of body, intense of purposeful emoting, Stewart shines in a true heroine role.  Although not the crew's captain, she acts as the on-target leader of the survivors.  Cassel is fine as the captain who defers to Norah as need be.  Altho he usually plays the 'heavy' in his film roles, he is convincing here.  The rest of the cast all serve the film & situations well--with Miller serving as the comic relief.  Marco Beltrami (along with his co-composer Brandon Roberts) has created a score that is equal parts moody, evocative, & thrilling.  His music here stands beside his equally exhilarating work on such films as "Scream", "World War Z", "A Quiet Place", etc.  Bojan Bozelli's cinematography is fair since it requires little other than darkness & tight shots.

I give "Underwater" 7.5 out of 10 nuggets.  This is an exciting, intense horror/thriller that succeeds because it does not pretend to be anything else.  If you are an admirer of good work in this genre, head to your local megaplex for a potent experience.