'Underwater' Pairs Its Exciting Premise with Competent Execution

Having seen a terrible 2019 Kristen Stewart movie last week, it was nice to watch a good 2020 Kristen Stewart movie this time.  That movie is Underwater.  It’s essentially an Alien rip-off, but set in a drilling facility at the bottom of the ocean instead of a spaceship in outer space.  Nevertheless, it’s a genuinely solid thriller, and I really enjoyed it.

Underwater is set in a state-of-the-art underwater base operated by an oil-drilling company at the bottom of the Marianas Trench (which is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth).  Suddenly, an earthquake strikes it, completely destroying much of it and compromising severely whatever sections remained.  The survivors (Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, Jessica Henwick, T.J. Miller, John Gallagher Jr., and Mamoudou Athie) must walk across the wreckage – including a one-mile stretch through the open ocean floor – in order to get to a place in the station wherein the remaining escape pods are located.  The journey is already terrifying and difficult as it is, but they also find themselves getting attacked by a group of unknown carnivorous creatures.

Experiencing a big earthquake and then getting trapped under the structure you’re in is a scary thought.  Being thousands of meters under the ocean – which more than 90% is a mystery, by the way – at a point no longer reached by sunlight and where there’s crushing pressure is an equally, if not more, terrifying thought.  Now, put those two together – on top of having around what are basically deep ocean xenomorphs – and that makes a heluva sci-fi horror premise.

And Underwater doesn’t waste its exciting premise.  It accompanies it with competent execution.  It’s satisfyingly fast-paced; things start going down almost right off the bat.  Claustrophobic tension doesn’t let up.  The characters are likable.  The scares are earned.  And there’s quality production value.

Moreover, I especially love that big reveal in the third act (SPOILER) – Cthulhu!  I kinda suspected something like it would happen.  And when its form finally appears on screen, it gave me such a rush.  I don’t know what is it with Lovecraftian lore.  But whenever it’s referenced in movies or TV shows, it gives me a special thrill.

Ultimately, though, Underwater is fundamentally derivative.  The form may be different, but the formula is something we’ve seen in countless other movies before.  Still, it’s one of the better ones that utilize this formula.  All things considered, it’s definitely a survival movie worth investing on.