Menace en eaux profondes

Something in the Water is a new thriller directed by Hayley Easton Street, who makes her real directorial debut with this film after some short films.

Before a wedding, the bride's group of friends decide to take a boat trip before the wedding. When one of the friends is bitten by a hair while swimming, the friends rush back to the boat.

Due to the panic that has arisen, they hit a rock during the return trip, which causes the boat to sink and the five of them end up in the open water with a dangerous shark lurking.

This film is being sold as a mix between the films Jaws and Bridesmaids, only without the talent behind these films. Due to the poorer script and direction, you don't really care about most of the characters during the film. The more novice actresses receive little or no guidance.

When the characters are also stupid because of the weak script. Or making separate decisions only makes you care less about them. You almost hope that the shark catches them quickly, so that the film can end earlier.

A new marine chiller that attempts to revive the killer shark subgenre but fails in several key areas. Despite its potential and an almost entirely female cast, Hayley Easton Street's film fails to bring any freshness or real excitement to the genre. With a script that mixes elements from "Open Water" and "The Shallows"," relying on clichés and implausible situations, the movie ends up being more of a simple and boring exercise than a suspenseful thriller with low-quality special effects that diminish the threat of the shark. Rather than offering a frightening experience, it remains a failed attempt to replicate the success of its predecessors.

This film had promise from the trailer (albeit with a story lacking any sense of originality but that's fine - sometimes we just want a good shark film).

The strength in this film is with how it doesn't show the shark to start with, other than a fin. A page taken from Jaws' playbook but, when that fin "looks" to do a handbrake turn when the shark senses blood, we know we're in trouble and everything is about to go downhill... And it does.

The over head shots of the shark in the water are okay but the constant - shark lunging for victim - shots are some of the worst CGI I've seen. But this isn't the worst thing about this film. That "accolade" goes to the acting and stupid script.

Example of script:

Women in water, shark circling them. They panic (fair).

One of them cracks a "joke" about dying from a shark attack in Manchester due to global warming. The women start to laugh whole-heartedly. THERE IS A SHARK CIRCLING YOU AND ONE OF YOU IS BLEEDING TO DEATH!!!!

I could say more but honestly, I'm annoying I wasted 86 minutes of my life on this. Give it a skip and remember the name of those who made this atrocity so you can avoid future work too. It's THAT bad.

I usually enjoy shark movies, and even when they are bad, which most of them are, I can typically find a few enjoyable aspects in them. "Something in the Water" initially seemed promising despite its low rating, but I decided not to let that influence me.

The movie tells the story of five women who meet because of a wedding. Before the big day, they decide to have an adventure and sail out to a deserted island in a small boat. Early on, the main character and her ex-girlfriend, who no longer get along due to a violent assault they suffered in the opening scene, are left alone on another part of the island. The other women justify leaving them there by saying they need to work through their differences and rebuild their friendship.

Our protagonist is traumatized by the assault and continues to struggle with the trauma daily, a trope that feels overused and fails to generate sympathy. Instead, it creates a protagonist who is difficult to root for. In fact, most of the characters are unlikeable, and this only worsens as the movie progresses.

The women eventually reunite and go swimming in shallow water. The first shark attack is laughably bad, with unrealistic execution and awkward acting that makes the scene feel uncomfortable and strange. The lack of gore in these moments robs the film of any sense of real threat.

Soon, the five characters are stranded in the ocean with a sunken boat and a persistent shark that refuses to leave them alone. While I can suspend disbelief about the shark's relentless behavior, since it is necessary for the plot, the constant poor decisions made by the characters are impossible to ignore. This makes them even more annoying and unlikable.

The movie is also highly unrealistic, and the shark's behavior becomes increasingly absurd as the story progresses. Ultimately, the film has little to offer beyond its basic premise, which could have been enjoyable if not for the poor decisions, irritating characters, and implausible scenarios.

On the positive side, the shark effects are decent, and the overall production value seems solid. These elements show that the movie had potential, which makes its failure even more disappointing. [4,0/10]

Quickly I began cheering for the shark .

Why you ask ?

Because the whole plot feels false and contrived. It tries so hard, so very very hard, to make you care about the characters and their relationships. Yet fails utterly .

I think you're suppossed to feel the warmth of their relationships and see them as real people. So you can feel their loss when the Shark has dinner.

Instead, it is portrayed in such a shallow and cringeworthy way, that you hope the Shark has seconds plus a good dessert .

The film lacks any relevant information for you to give a damn, except perhaps to hope the shark dines well on the blandness.

Whatever is in the water, it aint a good story.