[Review] Underwater(2020) {7/10}

Directed by William Eubank with a screenplay by Brian Duffield and Adam Cozad, the film stars Kristen Stewart (Norah Price), Jessica Henwick (Emily Haversham), T.J. Miller (Paul Abel), John Gallagher Jr. (Liam Smith), Gunner Wright (Lee Miller) and Vincent Castle (W. Lucien). It is notably the last film to be released under the 20th Century Fox brand.

The film follows Norah (Kristen Stewart) and her team of researchers who are investigating the ocean depths (Mariana's Trench) when some kind of earthquake damages their lab beyond repair. With the oxygen running out, their only hope of survival is to put on diving suits and walk across the ocean floor to reach another station. But they soon find themselves in a fight for their lives when they come under attack from mysterious and deadly creatures no one has ever seen.

The film took some inspiration from the H.P. Lovecraft character Cthulhu. It is kind of "Alien under water" but that does not mean it is not enthralling. Director William Eubank includes a couple of great lines in Underwater that will connect to Gen Z, tapping into a message of how to deal with feeling helpless in an out of control world. The film is modernized in a way that will appeal more to the older teens. Unfortunately, the movie does stick with the scary movie cliche of the type of character who always dies first. Kristen's nervous and uncomfortable acting style works well here. By the end of the movie, we can see a total transformation of not only Norah but also Stewart herself. Underwater is an exciting and entertaining sci-fi horror movie that grabs you and does not let you go to catch a breath. It is a claustrophobia thriller with a good cast ensemble and performances, edgy music score and strong direction that keeps the audience engaged from the very beginning until end.

Underwater is now available on Digital and Blu-ray.