47 Meters Down review: Johannes Roberts directs this British ‘survival horror’ movie set around two sisters who are trapped in a shark cage at the bottom of the ocean.
47 Meters Down review by Scott Davis.
As humans there perhaps isn’t many things that can scare us and give us the heebie-jeebies quite like a shark. We have always been both fearful and fascinated with them all at the same time, with our fears only escalated further after Steven Spielberg brought us Jaws in 1975 and a generation had a hard time getting themselves back into the water. Indeed, such was the power and intensity of the film that many filmmakers have tried (and mostly failed) to repeat its success and 47 Meters Down is no different. Does this latest shark tale sink or swim?
Related: The Shallows review
Sisters Lisa (Mandy Moore) and Kate (Claire Holt) are together on vacation in Mexico soaking up the sights and sounds of the “paradise” away from their regular lives. After Lisa confesses that she brought her sister along after she was dumped by her long-time boyfriend, they decide to ramp up their partying and meet two local guys who suggest an activity for them to try: being submerged in the ocean in a cage so they can feast their eyes on some sharks who circle the areas. But after their cage malfunctions, they are plunged 47 metres below sea level still inside and forced to find a way back to the top with sharks circling and their oxygen levels decreasing rapidly. If only they had Chief Brody’s number…
A year on from the harrowing and supremely well made The Shallows, 47 Meters Down takes many of cues from Jaume Collet-Sera’s film, which is no bad thing, but while it’s a worthy “successor” it’s perhaps not quite as sharp as it’s better half. There is an unease to the film almost as soon as our sister pair but their toes into the gleaming ocean that surrounds them and even though in the opening moments they are enjoying their tranquil views, the impending doom still lingers in the air. Once they decide to take on the shark cage, despite some initial reservations, you can feel yourself slowly sit forward in your seat as your mind prepares for everything to go up shark creek.
Once in the water, sunk the titular distance down to the bottom of the beautiful briny sea, the tension kicks into overdrive and for a good hour brims with some real dramatic moments. Helmed by British born Johannes Roberts, the director has learned much from his previous to film (the decent if unspectacular The Other Side of the Door) about how to build and maintain such dramatic moments and has enough surprises up his sleeve to keep us guessing.
Indeed, there are many jumps and frights to be had but such is the measured approach here that most of them are well earned, backed up by two capable turns from Moore and Holt. It’s a shame then that once we move into the final act, things begin to unravel quickly and all the good work that was done previously gets sodden with a cliched, dull finale that leaves much to be desired.
On the whole, however, 47 Meters Down is a decent little thriller and in a summer where there we have been bereft of some real thrilling moments, this underwater extravaganza feels the void pretty well.
47 Meters Down review by Scott Davis, July 2017.
47 Meters Down is released in UK cinemas on 26th July 2017.
