Underwater is not a slow-burn movie. More “Fi” than “Sci”, this underwater thriller and creature movie starts with a seven-mile-deep underwater research facility imploding. Underwater does a lot right if you’re not too hung up on things like physics and realism. Which, considering what kind of creature is lurking at the bottom of the ocean, maybe realism could sit this one out. 

• Directed by: William Eubank
• Written by: Brian Duffield. Adam Cozad
• Starring: Kristen Stewart. Vincent Cassel. Mamoudou Athie

Underwater is about deep-sea miners trapped at the bottom of the ocean after an “earthquake” causes their facility to implode. It’s a movie I totally overlooked when it was first released. After spending the day at the beach, I was in the mood for some nautical-themed horror. I’m glad I gave this one a second look. While it’s probably not going to end up a classic, there’s a lot of cool moments here.

Let’s Start with the Good

The mood and atmosphere are on point. From the survivors crawling past bodies in the claustrophobic rubble, to the nothingness of the ocean, Underwater knows how to capture and hold the setting.  Water is terrifying. It’s beyond dark, and there are things living in it that we cannot comprehend. 

Other than that, it has massive destructive power. Especially at depth.  When we get to witness that firsthand, it’s a sudden, shocking reminder of the stakes of their plan. It’s also a reminder that this is not a space movie. In space, you quietly freeze to death. In the ocean, you implode. Or get eaten. 

The scenes of the movie that take place in tight spaces with minimal lighting really work. Fortunately, there are a lot of them. Underwater captures the dizzying feeling of being in the deep, dark water and not knowing which way is up. 

We Did This

Underwater is another Man vs Nature movie. Emily, the biologist, pretty clearly defines the theme when she correctly points out that everything they are experiencing is because they don’t belong at the bottom of the ocean. They were drilling where they shouldn’t, and the inhabitants got angry. 

We don’t have much time to dwell on this. The movie’s pacing leans more towards action than drama. 

There is another theme. I don’t really want to spoil the end of this, and the theme leans directly into the ending.  Everything made sense character-wise, and I loved how this wrapped up. 

Character

I really love about 85% of the dialogue and character building in Underwater. The pacing lets the characters develop as the movie progresses. Some of them, we don’t even fully understand until after they’ve died.  It’s a form of quiet character development done through small details and moments, not exposition heavy monologue. 

Our main character, Norah, played by Kristen Stewart, is another highlight. I don’t usually love Stewart’s acting choices. She can be flat for my taste. In this, she gets to display strength and weakness in equal measure. She’s not an action hero. She’s someone who is barely holding it together in horrific circumstances.  

For a character to be likeable, to really be relatable. They need to be able to demonstrate their point of view, with their actions showing what they believe in. Norah does, and Stewart plays it nicely. She’s a character who, in trying to find a place to escape from her own tragedy, finds something new to fight for. I dig that. 

The other 15% maybe ends up being a bit exposition heavy.  There is a lot to explain, but it does get a little info dump heavy in the beginning.

Creature Design

Ok. These do not look like deep-sea creatures. I’m fine with it. They are sufficiently otherworldly and scary. That’s more important than scientific accuracy.  Overall, I’m a fan of what they did with these creatures. 

H³ ‘s  Review

Underwater is also one of the last of the H³ Halloween Horror movies. Don’t let him know, but I’m gonna try to sneak one more in.  Let’s see if his joint hatred of horror and water makes this a better or worse experience!

Hi again. As the Ghoul alluded to, I’m not a huge fan of the water, specifically being in it. Watching and listening to waves on the shore, a river, or a waterfall in the woods? Love it. Getting into it, though? Nope, not happening. Now, watching movies about it? That’s fine; it’s the in-person bit that I’m averse to.

This movie reminded me a little of The Abyss, at least from a setting and “unknown creatures at the bottom of the ocean” standpoint. We don’t have to deal with a psychotic SEAL trying to blow everything up, so that’s a welcome divergence. It’s genuinely creepy, though, and while not really a horror movie, it certainly has some of the elements.

The escape from the slowly imploding facility is nerve-wracking, with really great use of shot and stage design to impart a palpable sense of claustrophobia (some parts were a little difficult for me to watch because, yes, claustrophobia’s another quirk of mine). And once they start encountering the creatures, which are weird, things ratchet up even further on the adrenaline scale (I found them kinda disturbing).

I thought that, even though scientific accuracy is more of an afterthought in movies like these, the danger of the environment was used well too (those implosions though…). It becomes an adversary in itself, in a way, since the group of survivors are fighting to survive it, as well as the creatures that are coming for them. Oh, did I mention they were weird?

I really enjoyed the characters too. Like the Ghoul, I’m not a huge Stewart fan, but I found her to be quite good in this role. Her character was both likeable, and believable, which seems to be something that’s increasingly rare in recent movies. The rest of the cast was pretty great too. I particularly liked Vincent Cassel as Captain Lucien, the commanding officer of the facility that was destroyed. His actions and interactions with Stewart’s Norah, and the rest of the crew, again had an air of believability to them.

I thought this was a really good movie, which isn’t something I thought I would say going in. I had low expectations given the description but was quite pleasantly surprised by the quality of the acting, writing, and cinematography. The sound design was great too. All in all, I’d watch it again. It’s a shame it didn’t do well at the box office (only $40M worldwide against a reported $50–65M budget), because I think it deserves a second look, especially if you enjoy “fi-sci” (as the Ghoul would term it) with a healthy dash of creepy.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for textbook level accuracy alongside your thrills and suspense, skip this. The focus in Underwater is on mood and tension. If you can suspend disbelief, enjoy the moment and stomach all that water give Underwater a shot.

Underwater is available on streaming.