Submerged

As other reviewers have remarked, 'Submerged' is pretty good initially at building tension as the heroine (Roberts) begins to experience shocking supernatural encounters with apparently drowned schoolgirls (are they figments of her imagination or victims of some sinister crime), but the story soon drifts off course becoming a surrealist experiment that lacks coherency. The climax - whilst still reasonably violent - opts to forego a conventional crowd-pleasing ending for something more cerebral which might not satisfy all tastes.

Semi professional acting and cinematography although some of the location work was effective, albeit the topography didn't always match e.g. In one scene there's mangroves and then a suburban-looking creek, although it was sometimes difficult to distinguish what was being imagined vs what was reality (which I also experienced during the gaol scenes near the end when McCallum is being released).

Sometimes eerie, the film creates tension but fails to deliver tangible shocks, preferring abstract visuals to on-screen violence with a couple of minor exceptions when Roberts is being pursued at the film's climax. I wasn't always certain if what I was seeing was deliberately illogical, or just the consequence of a nano-budget and under-developed plot; there was certainly some atmosphere at times, and the main character's apparent ESP abilities was an interesting premise, but overall it had the look and feel of a student film, lacking plot detail and technical polish.

Let's get straight to it; Submerged is a bit of a mess. A storyline that bounces all over the place, visual effects that are less than stellar, and questionable acting from the leads.

But there are some good things about this independent feature too. The locations are beautiful, visually stunning. The supporting cast give it their all. And the ability to differentiate a flashback to modern times was easy enough that anyone who was only half watching could still follow the basic plot.

Let's look at the negatives first, starting with the story. The screenplay could have benefited from another going over, preferably by someone with fresh eyes. There are certain scenes that make no sense to the plot and feel like fodder to make the runtime longer. The ending, echoing a lot of other reviews on here, was very lackluster and unsatisfactory. It really did seem like sequel baiting, but no sequel has been made. For it to be a stand alone film, an additional 5-10 minutes needed to be added to explain what exactly was going and to give the audience closure.

The visual effects are basic, but seeing as this is an independent feature, I won't be too hard on it. Just be warned, it hasn't aged well.

The acting from our leading sisters as well as one of the main antagonists was less than desirable. I'm sure all were doing their best with what they were given, but at times the choices made for certain scenes left me perplexed. It may have been a purposefully chosen style, but it is very hit and miss.

Thankfully, some of the supporting cast were able to boost the film. The flashback scenes in which we see a younger version of the main antagonist, Danny Miller, were especially haunting. While no dialogue was uttered, the physicality of the character, and the intense fierceness coming through his eyes were enough to warrant a second look to ensure the locks of my house were indeed locked.

Jake was another character that left a lasting impact. As the story progressed, it was evident we weren't supposed to like him, but he was able to worm his way into our hearts. Possibly done for a "shock" factor reveal, but it was more of a "why" reveal. Again, that comes down to the convoluted plot.

Other characters that were solid were the two victims in the flashback sequences, Danny's mother (another flashback), and Kat's employer.

One thing that still urks me about this film is how during the flashbacks, Danny Miller never speaks. He is a silent killer. But when we cut back to modern times, he's quite the chatterbox. Some consistency with the character would have been nice. It also bugged me that the older version of Danny seemed more of a follower than a plausible threat. The younger version was terrifying by comparison to his older version. In saying that, age may have been a factor. But from where I sat, it felt like I was watching two different characters, not two actors being the same character. Again, consistency was required.

Overall, Submerged had the ability to be something intriguing. The storyline isn't bad - two sisters move to a quiet town where one of them begins having visions of the town's haunting past. It's just poorly executed. But for an independent feature, some of the negatives can be overlooked and put down to inexperience.

Not a great film, but there are some good moments though overall it is quite forgettable.

This had so much potential to be an incredible feature but its convoluted plot and anti-climatic ending left much to be desired.

This Australian horror movie starts out well, setting the scene with a solid introduction to our main characters. For a low-budget film, there is some really good character developments.

The story follows two sisters, one of which has a special gift where she can predict the future, or at least see future events/premonitions, moving to a small town after a fire killed their parents.

Intergraded with this storyline are flashbacks to a young man kidnapping and murdering two young women, drowning them - hence the title.

The two storylines come together when it is revealed the young man we've been watching murder these two young women is actually now an older man who is still hell-bent on killing. He's now talkative, where as in the flashbacks, he's been silent.

The end still confuses me and feels unsatisfying. There needed to be an additional 10-20 minutes tacked on to explain the ending. Some scenes featured in the movie could have also been cut to lower the runtime.

Acting was solid from some people involved. Ella Roberts, Ben Crawford, Richard Lovegrove, and Nicole Mazurek were standouts. Everyone else seemed to be phoning in their performances or were below average. Visuals were nice and the story moved at a good pace.

Overall, Submerged is a film that you'll watch once and easily forget. It has it's moments but not enough for it to be overly memorable. Good effort for a low-budget amateur production.

This Australian horror starts well, it sets the tone introduces the characters and does it all competently.

From the moment the Sick Puppies soundtrack played I became excited, this was actually delivering.

It tells the story of two sisters who move from the big city to small town Australia. One of the sisters has a "Gift" and has premonitions. When she starts seeing visions of drowned girls she sets about investigating.

Sadly by about half way through it becomes apparent that it's all going wrong. That little charm it had quickly fades to nothing and is replaced by shoddy sfx and a truly abyssmal storyline.

So I crossed my fingers and hoped for a finale that would save it, but it never came. In fact the finale is really poor and should have really had 15-30 minutes afterwards to actually finish the story.

Submerged isn't all bad, it just should have been a lot better than it turned out.

The Good:

Really quite shocking in places

Great soundtrack

The Bad:

SFX are pretty ropey

Plot falls apart badly

Seriously weak finale

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Killing pets off is getting old, stop it

Sick Puppies should be on more movie soundtracks

Following two sisters who move to the small town of Willow Point, Submerged is a convoluted plot that feels unfinished and rushed.

One of the sisters, Lindsay, is seventeen and has a 'gift' where she can see things before they happen.

So when she starts taking photos of her new location, she begins to see bodies in the river and is haunted by the town's dark past.

Naturally we are gifted flashbacks which sees a young man murdering two young women through the art of drowning them.

For me, the flashbacks were the best part of this film. Richard Lovegrove is sensational as the silent killer, Danny Miller. His presence is chilling and easily is one of the better actors in this production. His menacing stare and cold, calculating moves definitely sets the tone for a chilling villain.

Too bad once he departs the role in favour of Peter McAllum, the character loses his spark.

Points are awarded to Ben Crawford as Jake too. He was pretty decent in his role, even though we weren't supposed to like him.

The ending was anti-climatic, building the tension well but having no big bang. It feels as though they set the film up for a sequel, yet no sequel was ever made.

Ideally, an additional 10 minutes tacked on the end to give a more satisfying conclusion would have been ideal.

A hot mess of a film that has its moments and potential. Worth the watch? Not really, but if you're going to watch it, don't take it too seriously.