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Saw this today ... Why? Because I am big fan of the Alien movies and the marketing around Underwater strongly implies it is, to say the least, inspired by those films; which it turns out is true. In fact, I started playing a game as I watched: “which Alien movie are they referencing in this scene?” To rephrase, I spent most of this movie wishing I was watching better ones (yes, including Alien 3).
I really, really wanted to like Underwater. I went into it with a very forgiving state of mind. The film, however, did not cooperate. There was almost no exposition. There was no sense of normal established in the first act; instead the underwater habitat is compromised almost immediately. The action never really lets up from there going forward but at the same time also never became exciting. Most of it was so poorly shot and edited that it was just puzzling. KStew looks good but her acting is pretty bizarre. Her technique seems to be, refuse to cooperate with any other actor in the scene. The supporting cast ranges from merely forgettable to outright unlikeable.
I loved it. Was by no means perfect but I enjoyed it anyway. If your looking for a deep story you will be dissapointed. It’s a straight up monster movie and delivers what it promises.
Even from the trailer, this looked like a bad movie. However, as a veteran of every single Jaws movie, DeepStar Six, Leviathan, Deep Blue Sea, Sphere, The Meg, Humanoids From The Deep, 47 Meters Down, Piranha, Below, and The Abyss, I had no choice but to go. I have to obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul.
Truly, you love what you love even when it's no good for you.
So, despite this indeed being a bad movie, objectively I would argue this is actually one of the better ones in a very specific genre that has not been overly cursed with talent or production quality (with the exception of The Abyss, obviously). As DeathKorp Rider said, it delivers exactly what it says on the tin. A straight up monster movie with absolutely zero pretensions to be anything better. Furthermore, they really, really went for it. I mean, they left nothing on the field - in the last 30 minutes, I want to say, they pull out all the stops and took it to a... scale I could not have expected.
Creature effects are acceptable, although they do make it hard to see them overmuch, presumably to not highlight poor CGI. It's a fair tradeoff, since realistically, you should be able to see literally anything at that depth. You aren't going to learn more of the story from the movie than you will from the trailer - the character development is as shallow as a puddle. Why are there monsters here? Where did they come from? What are they eating down there? These aren't really questions the movie worries about, and neither should you. There was definitely at least one "bad laugh" when something bit off something more than it could chew in a very literal fashion - where was it planning on going with that, I wondered? Alas, it will be an enduring mystery. K-Stew does the best Ripley she is capable of doing, which is good enough for this movie. TJ Miller is surprisingly good, and, with all those sexual assault allegations, a surprising presence - I have to wonder just how long this has been sitting around the studio waiting for bad movie dump season to finally arrive.
It's the most enjoyable 3/10 movie I've seen recently, and knowing what I know now, I still would have seen it, but probably in IMAX. I would only recommend it if you like the same gakky movies I did, listed above.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/01/24 07:15:27
lord_blackfang wrote: Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.
Flinty wrote: The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
I enjoyed Underwater, but then again, I'm a sucker for the "sci-fi horror in a confined space" genre (Alien, Event Horizon, Pandorum, etc.). I'll watch anything in that genre, and I'll have a blast no matter how objectively bad it is. I'm the guy whose favorite Cloverfield movie is the critically-panned Cloverfield Paradox.
Also I think the soft butch look suits Kristen Stewart.
Cadians, Sisters of Battle (Argent Shroud), Drukhari (Obsidian Rose)
I thought it was good enough. Suitably entertaining. As has been said, the action starts off almost immediately with a jump start sprint, then settles into a fairly steady jog thru the rest of the movie with little rest. I think the closest they come to any explanations are Maybe we drilled too deep?
Ah that's a shame, the breakneck pacing with no time to understand the setting, characters or relationships in between is a criticism that can be leveled against many Hollywood films of late!
They actually do a fairly good job with the setting. Characters aren’t that deep, but really don’t need to be, and they’re not just flat caricatures. They fit the movie I feel.
-Guardsman- wrote: I'm the guy whose favorite Cloverfield movie is the critically-panned Cloverfield Paradox.
While that's not my favorite movie, either in that series or in general - I did enjoy that as well. I thought it was a good premise and a good cast, and the problems were really with the execution. It was that close to actually being a good movie.
lord_blackfang wrote: Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.
Flinty wrote: The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
She looked great in the film. Her performance, and what she had to work with in terms of the script/character, however, were hard for me to enjoy as much.
Yes, that is exactly what occurred to me while I was sat in the cinema. Instead of a balrog, however, they wake up
Spoiler:
Father Dagon or perhaps Mother Hydra
and even given that, this movie still could have been even somewhat interesting. Ya know, there are also a few things here and there about the production design that imply an interesting setting. But the movie doesn’t care about it.
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Ouze wrote: despite this indeed being a bad movie, objectively I would argue this is actually one of the better ones in a very specific genre that has not been overly cursed with talent or production quality
I’m really tempted to agree but is this actually part of the underwater subgenre or is it a space horror thriller in disguise? When you line up all the other movies this one superficially belongs to, I think Underwater feels like the odd man out. Maybe I need to rewatch some of the films you mentioned.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2020/02/11 03:45:55
I’m really tempted to agree but is this actually part of the underwater subgenre or is it a space horror thriller in disguise? When you line up all the other movies this one superficially belongs to, I think Underwater feels like the odd man out. Maybe I need to rewatch some of the films you mentioned.
Try watching Leviathan, they have a very similar feel. People say it’s a crap movie but I rather enjoy it.
For those of you who liked Leviathan, you should check out Deepstar Six if you haven't. They are very similar movies.
Manchu wrote: [When you line up all the other movies this one superficially belongs to, I think Underwater feels like the odd man out. Maybe I need to rewatch some of the films you mentioned.
Well, they were almost all pretty terrible, except for Jaws and the Abyss. And having re-watched The Abyss pretty recently, it doesn't hold up as well as I had hoped.
I hadn't realized it until you said it, but the genres of deep sea horror and haunted house in space are really just about identical. But now that you had, yeah, there is very little difference in beats and tone between Underwater and, say, Life.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2020/03/20 06:29:33
lord_blackfang wrote: Respect to the guy who subscribed just to post a massive ASCII dong in the chat and immediately get banned.
Flinty wrote: The benefit of slate is that its.actually a.rock with rock like properties. The downside is that it's a rock
Wasn't mad about the ending, but greatly enjoyed this overall. A few more surprises than I'd have expected, and clever uses of sound and claustrophobia. Loses steam in the second half, but the first half is very good indeed imho
Manchu wrote: Finally got around to watching Leviathan.
It was ... terrible. Not “so bad it’s good” by a long shot. Just boring and clunky and awkward.
Definitely watch Underwater before wasting your time on Leviathan.
Leviathan is The Thing but underwater and with mediocre/bad actors committing the classic horror movie sin of being too dumb to live. So basically The Thing with none of the things that made The Thing good.
I didn’t dislike it, though I wish it featured the creatures in some more detail.
On to 2019’s Sea Fever!
"Sometimes the only victory possible is to keep your opponent from winning." - The Emperor, from The Outcast Dead.
"Tell your gods we are coming for them, and that their realms will burn as ours did." -Thostos Bladestorm
I rented Sea Fever and Underwater for a back to back sea creeper feature.
Neither blew my mind. They are both worth watching imo but I have a hard time saying one is better than the other when both have imo the same fundamental problem; they build great atmosphere, are competently acted and written, and they bring you to the edge of your seat... only for nothing to happen. Both films just kind of fizzle in different ways that left me less than satisfied. Both films are quite derivative, and in a really disappointing way cause they had good direction and actors. They're not bad, but it's hard to escape the sense of wasted potential.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2020/04/15 03:24:44
LordofHats wrote: I rented Sea Fever and Underwater for a back to back sea creeper feature.
Neither blew my mind. They are both worth watching imo but I have a hard time saying one is better than the other when both have imo the same fundamental problem; they build great atmosphere, are competently acted and written, and they bring you to the edge of your seat... only for nothing to happen. Both films just kind of fizzle in different ways that left me less than satisfied. Both films are quite derivative, and in a really disappointing way cause they had good direction and actors. They're not bad, but it's hard to escape the sense of wasted potential.
Just finished sea fever and yeah, agree with your assessment.
Check out Sweetheart! I think I enjoyed that more than both of these, but my edible was on point when I watched it. Its a solid aquatic creature feature imo. Though it does suffer from a few monster movie tropes, namely “Hi, I’m the deadly monster that kills minor characters quickly, until I need to kill the main character and then I just kind of push her around.”
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/04/15 04:10:43
"Sometimes the only victory possible is to keep your opponent from winning." - The Emperor, from The Outcast Dead.
"Tell your gods we are coming for them, and that their realms will burn as ours did." -Thostos Bladestorm
AduroT wrote: They actually do a fairly good job with the setting. Characters aren’t that deep, but really don’t need to be, and they’re not just flat caricatures. They fit the movie I feel.
That almost sounded like a pun in this context.
Since this thread turned into an underwater horror/monster movie thread, anyone like "47 meters down"? I'd say it's better than ssome of the films mentioned here.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/04/17 05:59:35
"But the universe is a big place, and whatever happens, you will not be missed..."
I wouldn't ever call 47 Meters Down a great movie, but I do agree it was better. It had tension and suspense, and at the time a nice spin on the "poor tourists get eaten by monster" genre.
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