Isca

This film was absolutely fine, but don't be expecting anything new... you won't find it here. I liked the characters, they had a strong friendship and on the whole they behaved fairly sensibly. The actresses did a fine job. And the setting is beautiful. So that's all good!

The problem is that we've seen it all before... it's very predictable and that's a real shame. There also isn't enough shark/s in my opinion- which unfortunately makes it a pretty tame watch.

It's one of those movies that you'll watch once and that's it. Definitely doesn't compare to the likes of The Shallows or even 47 Metres Down.

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.

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]

Something in the Water has quite a few problems but it's ultimately a bad movie because it is so boring. Its concept struggles to sustain a feature length film even at a mercifully short 86 minutes long and there's barely any thrills or tension to be found. It takes too long to get to the big inciting incident and once it does its still not enough to give the film any energy as the characters just argue in the middle of the ocean for most of it.

No one in this is particularly good and it really doesn't help that they're all working with such thinly sketched characters. It's a very small cast so they have to carry the film and no one can rise to the task unfortunately, although Hiftu Quasem and Natalie Mitson definitely come the closest. They constantly make dumb decisions which is obviously frustrating and makes it significantly harder to root for their survival.

Hayley Easton Street's direction doesn't deliver the goods. When it comes to Shark movies, less is usually more, however, the presence of the sharks here is barely felt exacerbated by kills that are seriously lacking in any bite. For better or worse there's barely any jump scares here either. At least they are actually on the water and the score by Nainita Desai and Harry Peat does a decent job of creating a shred of suspense.

Ridiculous premise from the outset.

It is like an Enid Blyton novel, 'Five Diverse Babes Go lesbian Relationship Counselling At Sea'. What could possibly go wrong?

Obviously, the film is low budget and in this case, it shows.

The direction is basic. The script divests you of feeling for the protagonists whose characterisation is quite two dimensional.. The plot is ridiculous and written with stupid characters making stupid decisions and written by people who have no idea about shark behaviour.

Although I did say it was low budget there are some drone and cityscape establishing shots but I have no idea what relevance they have to the main part of the story.

'I can't pee, if you are looking at me'.......they are all stranded in the water at sea. Laugh out loud funny. Very nearly 'Showgirls, so bad it's good' bad.