Shallow Water

For me the only negative about Shallow Water is I would have loved to have seen the events which led up to the great twenty minutes I saw. Now that being said, the story wasn't hard to gather from what was shown. A group of friends going to an exotic place at the wrong time which had a deadly outcome for most of them.

The film itself was very well done for the time and budget placed upon it. The creature itself looked MARVELOUS and you can easily tell a lot of time and love went into its creation. For the short visit we have with the "Tiburonera" (translates to "he who hunts sharks"), gives us a glimpse at not just a monster but a world that mankind has been blind to and, in all honesty, which was probably for the better.

The cinematography was well executed and always gave the feel there was more on the other side of the four walled box we are viewing. The sets were lush and the steaming rain helped add to the feel that this was actually happening in some remote jungle somewhere.

Next to the creature itself, the music was an absolute favorite! Suspenseful and catching as our lone survivor flees for her life from the creature as also the music works well with the sounds and calls the Tiburonera makes.

So in the end for this being only a twenty minute film it brought with it an eagerness and want to see the see whole story from its beginning to end. Honestly though should that event never happen, then at least I got to see a part of it and can let my imagination do the rest!!

Absolute masterpiece, Sandy Collora is prime example of what Hollywood is lacking. Been a long time since a film maker made something worth watching. And with all the CGI effects out there its nice to see a return to practical effects. Brilliant creature design Lisa Roumain's performance was off the charts. I absolutely loved this film it did the exact same thing Jaws did to me years ago. Made me afraid to go into the water again.

WOW! I saw Shallow Water today. It was absolutely amazing. Time flew and left me feeling like "What, it's over already". You felt like you were there with the main character as this incident unfolded. True horror because there was nothing hokey in it and you didn't have humor or any other distraction being used break the tension. I'm an adult. I don't need to be given time to unwind during intense sequences. The creatures weren't humanized in anyway which made them very terrifying, very threatening and sheer predators. Star Trek and the Borg and Predator movies are great examples of this. They started with those characters as unstoppable, invincible nightmares. But as soon as the humanization of the characters and their vulnerabilities were exposed, they lost that terrifying element! This film leaves you fearful! I'll be thinking twice before going into the wilds alone! It shows what an artist can do when they don't have inexperienced higher-ups shoving their demands and childish ideas down the creators throat. This needs to be a full fledged and full length movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DAMN SANDY!!!!!

I skimmed some of the other reviews, and clearly, some of these people have an ax to grind with someone. Yes, I wish it had been the feature- length film that was originally envisioned and planned, but the realities of life and business prevented that. Because it's now a short, I'm willing to overlook a lot of things that I would expect in a longer film. As it is, I found it to be a lot of fun, and very well shot, directed, and acted. For a little over fifteen minutes, I was entertained with a classic-style monster film. That was enough.

When the hell is Hollywood going to get their act together and give Sandy Collora a blockbuster movie to make? Why isn't this guy doing this on a much more grander stage with bigger budgets? Len Wiseman, Patrick Tatopoulos, Gareth Edwards, Neil Blomkamp. All these guys have been given shots to direct studio films with far less of resume and background. This guy has been doing this since 2003 and crushing it. Batman Dead End, Worlds Finest, the grossly underrated Hunter Prey and now Shallow Water, which many consider (including myself) his best work to date. The sound on this short alone is worth the price of admission and the visual style and monsters ooze Collora all over the place. An iconic, artistic, stylistic tour de force like none other. Just simply jaw dropping. Tension, texture, color, sound, MOOD and STYLE. Style for days, this guy is the Christian Hosoi of independent filmmakers. Such a huge, huge talent. What can't this guy do? Seriously? Sadly underused. I hope he gets his shot. He deserves it.