Once more, back into the abyss. The new big-ish budget Kristen Stewart feature brings audiences back to the bottom of the sea with mysterious sea monsters.
Think back to 1989. That year was the trifecta for deep-sea horror movies. Leviathan, Deep Star Six, and The Abyss all embraced the deepest mysteries at the bottom of the ocean, and we haven’t really been back in a major way since then. The Meg had some abyssal investigations, but really it was a surface water monster. Aquaman also went to the trench, replete with bitey sea monsters, but though James Wan infused his superhero movie with a touch of horror, it was not ABOUT the sea monsters.
20th Century Fox (now under the supervision of Disney… so the movie is PG-13)… is taking a big budget gamble with this film. The running expense, according to IMDb is $80,000,000 meaning that they are going to have to hope for superhero movie level attention next year. By comparison, The Meg cost $130,000,000 and it made its money back ($545,000,000) largely due to a positive reception in China.
Fox must be hoping for a similar result, and there is reason for hope. From the trailer, the production design and effects look super solid. It certainly has the claustrophobic qualities of its predecessors, and has a convincing lived-in real look to it. The monsters? The trailer doesn’t give much away, but there are claws and tentacles, so it has a little bit of the Lovecraftian feel, minus the literary backbone.
The cast, for a big budget B-movie is encouraging. Kristen Stewart (Twilight) sports a platinum buzz cut for this feature, is joined by TJ Miller (Deadpool), Jennifer Henwick (Iron Fist), Vincent Cassel (Black Swan), John Gallagher Jr. (The Belko Experiment), Mamadou Athie (The Get Down), and Gunner Wright.
Many people may have forgotten (or never heard of) the deep water horror features of 1989. My sister and brother in-law were thinking… so, is this an Alien rip off? Well, the answer to that me be… yes. But there are many, many movies that are guilty of that, some of them very well done. Does this trailer pique your interest?
Underwater comes out on January 10, 2020… which to be honest is the graveyard for feature films. Good luck with the Box Office, Fox. As a devoted creature feature fan, I will be there to see it. How about you?