Under the lens takes a deep look at films by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture that helped to define it for better or for worse. Spoilers will be included in this review.
Underwater is a suspense horror picture from director William Eubank and stars Kristen Stewart, Jessica Henwick, and Vincent Cassel. It follows the story of a crew of oceanic researchers working for a deep-sea drilling company who tries to get to safety after a mysterious earthquake devastates their deepwater research station located at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
Under The Lens: Budget, Kristen Stewart and Phantom Camera
Budget: Underwater was a moderately inexpensive picture, costing around $50 million to produce, most monster or disaster pictures with low budgets look and feel very cheap. However, this is not the case with Underwater, the budget is stretched and we get a picture that is built to seem much higher priced then it is. Being an underwater picture, the CGI and monsters are able to be hidden, and jump scares and shadows are used to great effect.
The final reveal of the monster at the end is even more terrifying as we all thought the merman like fish were the monsters, only to discover those were the parasitic minions of an underwater god. The budget is used to make Cthulhu look ominous and every inch the threat he is.
Kristen Stewart: Stewart gets a lot of flake on the internet with claims of being emotionless and a bad actress, however, anyone who has followed her post Twilight career knows she is a talented and accomplished actress who has carved out a nice little corner of the acting world.
Stewart never phones in a performance and she turns in a strong performance as Norah, a mechanical engineer with a troubled past who is forced into a leadership role when everyone else dies. What could have been a very one-note role, she adds depth and feeling too with her facial expressions, tone, and use of language and slang. We hear a bit about her background, but the script lets us decipher her through her actions and reactions.
Phantom Camera: Director William Eubank filmed a few very cool looking slow-motion scenes, one notable being Norah being thrown back, and another near the end when we see Norah finally let go of her trauma and the inability she feels to be able to save those she loves. They are beautiful shots, and Eubank captured them using a phantom high-speed camera, these camera’s can capture 25,600 frames per second at 1,280 x 800 resolution, it’s incredible. These shots added a different feel to some of the action scenes, as it allowed the viewer to slow down and feel the emotion of what was transpiring on screen.
Highlights
The reveal that this picture is set in the H.P Lovecraft universe was a great reveal as this universe has not been greatly explored in film.
The homages to Alien were well done and fun to spot
The opening and closing of the picture with news clippings and government documents was informative and a clever way to dump exposition.
Quotable Quote
Norah: You’ve got sixty seconds, so let’s light this sh*t up
Something to think about
How would you feel working in a station miles below the surface of the sea?
Conclusion
Overall Underwater is a well made and enjoyable fright-fest, it dives into suspense horror more than gore as the viewer is scared of what they DONT see. This picture is anchored (Pardon the pun) by a strong performance by Kristen Stewart, a well-used budget, and an intriguing tie into one of the most famous literary monsters of all time. Underwater is sadly dragged under by a lackluster development of the supporting characters, who despite being played well by the cast end up being not much more than fodder for Cthulhu. Underwater despite this is a worthy addition with other deepwater horror pictures and is a fun late-night watch.
