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Underwater
2020 95 min United States of America PG-13 18+
★5.7
Horror, Science Fiction, Action, Adventure
Director: William Eubank
Trailers
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Description
After an earthquake destroys their underwater station, six researchers must navigate two miles along the dangerous, unknown depths of the ocean floor to make it to safety in a race against time.
Budget:
$50M
US Gross:
$17.29M
Worldwide:
$40.88M
Starring
Kristen Stewart
Actor
Vincent Cassel
Actor
Mamoudou Athie
Actor
Awards
1 win & 4 nominations total
Key opinion
Underwater is a claustrophobic, fast-paced creature feature that functions effectively as a disposable B-movie thriller despite its derivative nature. While many appreciate its relentless intensity and tension, the film is hampered by thin character development and a reliance on well-worn genre tropes.
| Originality | The film functions as an effective, unpretentious B-movie that delivers consistent thrills for those seeking a genre-focused creature feature. | |
| Originality | The narrative relies heavily on established genre blueprints, borrowing transparently from films like Alien, Deep Star Six, and The Abyss. | |
| Pacing | The brisk, relentless pacing keeps the audience engaged from the opening minutes, though some viewers find this speed leaves no room for character depth. | |
| Cinematography | The visual presentation is divisive; some find the murky, dark aesthetic and tight framing masterfully claustrophobic, while others describe it as ugly, obscured, or reliant on gratuitous shaky-cam. | |
| Acting | Performance quality remains a point of contention, with opinions split on whether Kristen Stewart effectively anchors the film or provides an underwhelming, lackluster lead. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay is widely criticized for failing to provide meaningful backstory or clear motivations, resulting in cardboard characters that are difficult to connect with. |