You ever watch a film where it feels like the people behind it know exactly what you expect of it, and decide to just roll with it because God damn it, they have a job to do, and at the very least, they could do it right, so they deliver exactly what they promise – no more, no less? That’s basically what it’s like watching Underwater, a new sci-fi horror film where a vast deep sea research facility suddenly experiences sudden collapse that throws everything into chaos, leaving behind only a handful of survivors, but it turns out the cause might not be a mere accident, it could in fact be the doing of something lurking out in the darkness of the oceanic floor.
Yeah, with that little bit of synopsis, you can pretty much work out the basic scenario that the film could follow, and it will, in all likelihood, be very close to what is present in the film. However, that doesn’t stop writers, Brian Duffield and Adam Cozad, and especially director, William Eubank, from committing to the b-movie thrills that they are promising us. There’s creepy creatures, jump scares, claustrophobic set pieces, and a solid collection of actors who play the whole thing completely straight as they each face the dangerous path to reach their one chance to potentially get to the surface.
In the film we follow Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, John Gallagher Jr., Jessica Henwick, T.J. Miller (this film was shot several years ago, explaining his not particularly welcome presence), and Mamoudou Athie, who served as crew members for the facility. The characters are largely one-note, but the actors add just enough personality to keep things interesting, with the exception of Miller, who mostly acts as a one-liner machine. Unsurprisingly, Stewart makes the most out of the material here, giving her character a palpable anxiousness that enriches some of the miniscule moments of character details in between the loud and bombastic action sequences.
Because of its relentless onslaught, the film doesn’t give much opportunity for any further explorations into anything that might be on the characters’ minds. There is one line that implies a potentially interesting thematic idea about how the disaster might be mother nature’s way of fighting back, but the film doesn’t seem to be particularly interested in diving into that thought any further. This might not sound like a good time, but for the most part, it actually is. It’s by no means a great film, but it’s a totally functional horror romp that knows what beats to hit, and how to hit them with enough slick filmmaking to keep you engaged. It’s definitely elevated by some solid production design that makes the environment believable and gritty, as well as the musical score by Marco Beltrami and Brandon Roberts, which is propulsive and ominous. The cinematography from the often underappreciated Bojan Bazelli helps a lot in creating this oppressive atmosphere that keeps the tension going.
Underwater certainly wears its influences on its sleeve, and it definitely doesn’t hold a candle to the likes of Alien or The Abyss, but as a junky horror film, there is something oddly satisfying about seeing a super straightforward and efficient non-IP based b-movie with a sizable budget that doesn’t bend over backwards to satisfy any outside interests like potential franchise building. That might seem like a low bar to clear, and to a degree, it very much is, but there is still quite a bit to admire from a technical perspective as well as the work that the actors put in, especially Kristen Stewart. I would say that having now seen this, I would be very curious to see what William Eubanks, who previously made the uneven, but fascinating 2014 low budget sci-fi film The Signal, does next, since he clearly has a distinct eye for this kind of genre filmmaking, and I’d like to think – with better material – he might eventually make something great.