Underwater (2020) - USA
Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)
Kristen Stewart is probably the best thing in the wannabe “Aliens” rehash “Underwater” monster horror thriller film. We have all seen these kind of mash of B-Movies genre film with A-list cast of sorts, but “Underwater” suffers from poor pacing, dull moments, despite the tight running time of 95 minutes. Director William Eubank is obviously inspired by far better filmmakers including Ridley Scott and in the process created a carbon copy of an Alien film set below the underwater of underground sea.
Kristen Stewart is simply brilliant in her role as the main heroine of the film. Stewart carries the film with her broad shoulders and shaven hairline. She manages to be both bold and holds her own alongside a good ensemble cast. Vincent Cassel is criminally underused as the captain role, meanwhile, Jessica Henwick continues her good run of sizeable supporting roles with a likeable and brave turn. T.J Miller and John Gallagher Jr. rounds out the quality casting of the ensemble fighting and surviving against the unknown alien creatures.
All in all, “Underwater” is really a B-movie disguised as a Hollywood thriller. The film suffers from poor lighting throughout, making most of the proceedings unclear. The alien creatures are scary to look at, but lacks any sort of characters or understanding except to take out some of the cast members and provide a scare or two for the audience. Still, with an A-list cast to boot and excellent performance from the cast, it’s a shame that the script wasn’t better and sometimes, cliches are better with original ideas.
I rated it 6/10