Beware the Depths: Underwater (2020)

2020 was a rough year. It was the year where we were forced to lose a year. It's still crazy to think that and realize just how much this pandemic has effected us. Thankfully, we are slowly bouncing back from it. 

While staying home, I have had lots of time to just watch movies. It honestly helped me get back into the mindset of wanting to see this blog through. And it just took me undergoing dental surgery to finally just say screw it and go all in. 

I had the chance to watch Underwater. Underwater was directed by William Eubank and starred Kristen Stewart. Hey, I know she's from the Twilight movies. But honestly her and Robert Pattinson have done some great things since those early days. Underwater was also the last film that would see release under the 20th Century Fox banner as the buyout had gone through. 

Now, one of the things I learned from researching this film was that it was shot in 2017. It literally took three years and a studio buyout for it to see release. Absolutely bonkers to think on that one. But honestly, I am glad that it was released. 

So the story of Underwater goes like this:

An unknown, massive earthquake happens in a drilling station in the bottom of the Marianna Trench. A scientific crew must find their way across the ocean floor into another station under the threats of deep pressure, dark water, dangerous deep-sea creatures, and a constant lack of oxygen.

Honestly one of the things that I love about this film is the simple setup. Partially it feels a bit like a throwback to Ridley Scott's ALIEN. Personally, I would say that this is on par with that film. I'm super happy that the studio hasn't remade ALIEN because we might not have gotten this film. 

The setting is also so unique. Instead of being out among the stars, we are locked into the depths of the deep sea. That is something that is so terrifying to think about. It adds so much tension to the film. It's also very interesting that we never see anything other than the ocean. Not once are we taken up top to see what was happening. We are locked in this journey alongside our characters. 

Onto the topic of characters, our main one is Norah Price (Kristen Stewart). She is our Ripley in a sense. Honestly, we are not given much background details for any of our characters. We get a few basic ones. But for the most part, it's here's our characters and let's go. That helps create a very tight pace for the film. There's also another film that I can think of that does a similar thing and that's Pitch Black. But back on topic, Norah is a very likeable character. Stewart really delivers such a great performance that I was very surprised with. She definitely takes charge when she needs to. She also will jump in to help someone when they need it. Outside of that, I honestly could not tell you too much about the other characters. I know T.J. Miller has a rabbit. 

But I think that's totally deliberate. It allows us to immediately bond with Norah and experience this journey through her point of view. It's actually a bit of a bold choice to do.

Now, there are some creatures in this film. I'm not going to spoil anything. That's not what this review is. But the creatures are fantastic. They are all so believable that they would be found down in this environment. Which for the most part the environment was created in the computer. That is super cool. It helps add such a unique flavor to the film overall. The creatures are a bit creepy as well. And it leads to some tense sequences. 

This film is just so different than much I have seen before. Well especially these days as many films all could feel like one another and be interchangeable. This film has a voice. When it was first released, it wasn't a huge release. It wasn't super successful. However, I think it's because it is a bit ahead of it's time. By the end of it all, I just kept finding myself hoping that we could see a sequel. There's so many different ways it could be taken. And it's kinda rare to have a film that immediately screams out 'Need a sequel'. 

I highly recommend Underwater. Don't watch a preview. Don't find out anything about it beforehand. Go in with an open mind and blind. It's the best way to experience it. I ended up just buying it from my Family Video when they were closing because had heard it was good. It was a fantastic journey. 

Please studios let films like this be able to tell more of their stories. We would love to be able to return to the world's that are set up. 

Rating: 5 out of 5. 

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