ReWatch: Underwater

• Directed by William Eubank
• January 10, 2020

Disaster strikes an underwater facility, and the survivors are pursued by strange creatures.

I was not excited by Underwater when it came out. I think it barely registered with me. Yet I found myself eventually with a physical copy and some time on my hands and I am forced to admit that my initial dismissal of this film was rather shortsighted.

I admit to being a Kristen Stewart hater. As a general rule her face has all the expression of a Renaissance sculpture. And her acting has not been mind blowing. Having said that, I was genuinely surprised how well she did in this film. Here she plays Norah Price who is a mechanical engineer on the Kepler 822 where the story takes place.

Norah has her issues but what they are only becomes clear over the course of the film as do many other things involving the general narrative. Some do not become clear but are hinted at with enough given to draw logical conclusions. We are not handed all the answers nor is everything involving the situation summed up at any point. There are clues left along the way that if you watch will inform. The only thing clear is that the company they work for-Kian Industries-knows more than it is saying.

The story of Underwater is built around the Cthulhu mythos. But they don’t beat you over the head with that. It just gives William Eubank and company a foundation to work from. What they show on screen is more than enough in order to enjoy the movie without the viewer needing to be versed in H.P. Lovecraft. It is more like a bonus.

Nora is not good at everything and right about everything. Rather she’s capable and steps up to the situation. But the same can be said of just about all the other characters. They each have something to contribute. It’s based on what little we get about their backgrounds and their purpose for being on this underwater drilling platform.

After taking a few moments out to introduce our main character and reveal that she is going through something there’s a big disaster and the film hits the ground running. Director William Eubank never slows things up. There is no initial hint of anything extraordinary happening, but as the story goes along either in the scene or the reaction of characters that might know something there is a hint of something more going on than an accident. Not that the opening credits hide anything either.

The deaths are shocking and surprising, but not overly gory. I believe the only instance of any kind of gore is when they find a body in an attempt to locate a survivor. Beyond that there’s nothing really disgusting shown. The deaths we get are shocking because the characters are developed enough that you feel some attachment to them and death is quick. And they do a good job of making you feel as if no one is truly safe from death.

The sets are fantastic. These are not big open spaces, but rather they crafted a tight and confining facility which gives a claustrophobic feel. This takes a cue or two from Alien by keeping the cast small and events in a small area.

This didn’t do too well at the box office. And maybe showing it in theaters was the wrong place. Not every movie can go into a movie theater. At least not in this day and age. Weird concepts do not quite get the push that they once did. They may get made by the studio but once it’s completed, in my humble opinion executives get timid and don’t know quite how to push what they have in their hands.

In this case it is a real shame. Underwater is a great horror survival film with an appropriate level of character development plus a decent budget. It’s very enjoyable to watch. It has some jump scares in a supernaturally tinged story that is just all around well made.

Underwater is a great bit of Cthulhu mythos filmmaking. It’s entertaining from start to finish but didn’t connect with audiences the first time around. If you like monster movies, then you will certainly like this. This is a very high recommendation from me!