What if you take the basic premise of "Alien" and set it in the deep sea? You get "Underwater", directed by William Eubank. It's one of the last films released by 20th Century Fox before Disney bought it, which led to it being released at an unfavorable time for cinema. This contributed to it being swept under the rug, which is kind of a shame since this film has a few merits.
Plot: The story centers on a drilling crew (chief among them Kristen Stewart). The group were working at the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the world. However, there are some places man was not meant to dig and, sure enough, they end up awakening something hidden in the dark depths. This forces the gang to risk venturing out to find a means of escape while being hunted by monstrous entities.
A good method to sell horror is isolation and there are few places more terrifying than the deep sea; darkness, cold, intense pressure, and life forms too alien to describe. The cinematography is done well, bringing forth claustrophobia within the station's cramped halls and the characters' POV when they walk outside in diving suits in low visibility. The horrors plaguing the crew, while not scaring me much, are effectively creepy. Though obscured by the environment much of the time, the film shows just enough for the viewer to get an idea of their appearance. Further details sprinkled throughout indicate something out of Lovecraft's playbook. The characters are kind of meh. None are bad, in fact a couple I liked such as T.J. Miller, but none leave a big impression outside decent character moments and interactions. Kristen Stewart, while not a great actress, at least has more to do here than let sparkling vampires whisk her away. Part of the issue is that after the cool opening credit sequence establishing the setting, the chaos happens almost right away, leaving little room to familiarize with the crew members before their perilous journey. I will say I didn't quite expect the conclusion to play out the way it did (in a good way).
"Underwater" admittedly doesn't offer much that's Oscar worthy and even I wouldn't call it one of the great horror classics. That being said, the setting and presentation do make it stand out, resulting in a passable experience.
Plot: The story centers on a drilling crew (chief among them Kristen Stewart). The group were working at the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the world. However, there are some places man was not meant to dig and, sure enough, they end up awakening something hidden in the dark depths. This forces the gang to risk venturing out to find a means of escape while being hunted by monstrous entities.
A good method to sell horror is isolation and there are few places more terrifying than the deep sea; darkness, cold, intense pressure, and life forms too alien to describe. The cinematography is done well, bringing forth claustrophobia within the station's cramped halls and the characters' POV when they walk outside in diving suits in low visibility. The horrors plaguing the crew, while not scaring me much, are effectively creepy. Though obscured by the environment much of the time, the film shows just enough for the viewer to get an idea of their appearance. Further details sprinkled throughout indicate something out of Lovecraft's playbook. The characters are kind of meh. None are bad, in fact a couple I liked such as T.J. Miller, but none leave a big impression outside decent character moments and interactions. Kristen Stewart, while not a great actress, at least has more to do here than let sparkling vampires whisk her away. Part of the issue is that after the cool opening credit sequence establishing the setting, the chaos happens almost right away, leaving little room to familiarize with the crew members before their perilous journey. I will say I didn't quite expect the conclusion to play out the way it did (in a good way).
"Underwater" admittedly doesn't offer much that's Oscar worthy and even I wouldn't call it one of the great horror classics. That being said, the setting and presentation do make it stand out, resulting in a passable experience.