Director: William Eubank
Year: 2020
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
Working for an underwater drilling station, the crew finds themselves under attack by a mysterious series of accidents that have trapped them on the ocean floor miles underwater and must try to get to the lone possible escape method in order to get topside, only for an unforeseen creature to impede their plans.
Review:
This one was quite enjoyable when it worked. Among it’s better qualities is the overall fine setup at play that features some rather enjoyable setups which are rather fun at points. With the opening destruction of the various rooms and hallways in the station, the race to get to safety away from the crumbling walls and onrushing water serves this incredibly well with the chaotic nature of the situation immediately into the film to get it started on a frantic note. The ensuing chaos and unpredictable nature of what’s going on with the station exploding and failing around them unexpectedly turns into a fine series of escape plans to get to a stable environment where they can regroup and get their bearings on what’s happening, allowing this to turn into a rather fun survival thriller with the different obstacles they need to overcome in order to escape the station. Managing to become incredibly suspenseful and claustrophobic about their trip through the unknown conditions of the situation, this section of the film gets off to a fine start.
The other enjoyable aspect featured here is the final half where they’ve survived and become aware of what’s been stalking them throughout the compound. The first attacks with the strange creatures are rather enjoyable, featuring the survivors coming upon the creatures feeding on the remains of the deceased crewmember which is all the better with the strange lighting and bizarre look of the creatures. Later scenes including the attack on the group getting into the station or the ambush inside the lift as they get into the main tower of the crumbling facility come off rather nicely, featuring a nice use of the budgetary resources to generate some spectacle in the sequence. The big finale, featuring the last-ditch effort to get out of the doomed facility before it explodes and the creatures get inside, gets incredibly enjoyable as the slick and glossy visuals offer quite suspenseful moments within the frantic action as the cliffhanger involving the monster attacking them has a lot to like. Overall, these here keep the film up over its minor drawbacks.
There are a few minor problems with this one. Among its main flaws is the fact that there are some rather unnecessary aspects to their escape route that don’t need to be there. A detour into rescuing a potential survivor that’s out of the way of their projected route when they’re on a deadline to get out alive serves no purpose and results in no real surprises when they encounter unexpected obstacles that later affect their trip. Scenes of them going for food and special item retrieval missions that enable the creatures to attack aren’t too surprising, and an attack where a guided recovery system allows the creatures to follow the crew comes off incredibly confusing not just in the on-screen action but how they managed to ignore that aspect of their trip. As well, some might find fault with some woefully unfunny comedic relief attempted here which seems highly unprofessional and completely at odds with the purpose behind the company’s protocols who would’ve eliminated that kind of behavior and immaturity from their ranks. Otherwise, there isn’t much to dislike here.
Overview: ****/5
Having a lot of rather enjoyable action and some mainstream-quality work that manages to overcome the few minor detrimental issues on display, there’s a lot of enjoyable features that maintain a likable energy to it. This is definitely recommended to fans of mainstream horror efforts or those looking for a fun, breezy monster movie while those who get turned off by the positives on display should heed caution with this one.
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