47 Metres Down: Film Review

47 Metres Down: Film Review

Cast: Mandy Moore, Claire Holt, Matthew Modine, CGI Sharks
Director: Johannes Roberts

Entirely predictable but nonetheless fluffily entertaining, the obsession with sharks is once again mined in Johannes Roberts ticking time thriller, 47 Metres Down.

Centring on sisters Lisa and Kate (This Is Us' Moore and Vampire Diaries Holt respectively) who are on a holiday in Mexico together, 47 Metres Down is a strong advertisement for maybe never taking that seems-too-good-to-be-true off-the-beaten-track holiday experience.

Rankled by a recent break-up Lisa is wary when a couple of locals offer her and her thrill-seeking sister the chance to go into a shark tank and go underwater. But talked round by Kate, the duo embark on the trip overseen by a grizzled, bandana-wearing Matthew Modine.

However, when the cable snaps, sending the duo down to a seabed depth of 47 metres, and with air supplies running out, the pressure's on to get them out of the deadly waters.

Providing generic jump scares and a plethora of sisterly bonding and issues working out, 47 Metres Down is as disposable a piece of mid-year entertainment as Hollywood's likely to offer up. It starts out nicely with a subversion of the shark attack idea in a pool, and a dropped glass of red wine releasing a blood-like trail.

As was demonstrated by Blake Lively's lithe-body-in-a-bikini shark box office hit, The Shallows, there's still plenty to be mined in the old primal terror storyline of man (or woman) versus the elements. And while 47 Metres Down suffers from a lack of clear vision as it rests on the sea-bed thanks to dark murky shots, there's still the requisite amount of claustrophobia on show with close-ups of the girls demonstrating their plight.

While the end's signalled by a wordy explanation of a warning of the side-effects of diving, 47 Metres Down settles for a calm, very familiar horror set-up (hook ups with unknown locals, who may be too good to be true) before unleashing a frenzy of moments towards the end guaranteed to have you on the edge of your seat.

If you're willing to settle for generic moments and a degree of predictability, 47 Metres Down, with its relatively affable and familiar leads may prove the cinematic fish food you could chew on during the continuing winter months.