Directed by Christian Sesma
Written by Chad Law and Josh Ridgway
I already mentioned the reputation of Saban Films in my review of Laws of Man, which was unfavorable. They are a studio who pumps out these bad films year after year. The frustrating part of Saban Films is they play in these really interesting genres, but never come up with a winner it seems like. Laws of Man was a period crime drama, with a cool premise on the surface and no execution on the screen. Similarly, Into the Deep is a pretty cool crime horror with high seas action and shark horror, but the end result is just not something worth watching. I love that these types of movies are getting greenlit and made, I hate that they continue to be terrible products.
Cassidy (Scout Taylor-Compton) experienced tremendous tragedy as a little girl when she and her father were attacked by a great white shark while swimming in the ocean. Fortunate for her, she survived, but her father’s brutal death has haunted her her whole life. With the encouragement of her grandfather Seamus (Richard Dreyfuss), Cassidy became a marine biologist, despite her horrific memory of the water. When she and her husband Gregg (Callum McGowan) go on a treasure dive in Thailand, they encounter sharks yet again, but this time the scenario is worsened by the presence of drug running pirates (Jon Seda) who hold their boat hostage in the open waters.
I’m the type of movie viewer who can usually find something to like about even the worst of movies, but this time Into the Deep is just too much. Well, I guess that’s not true, let’s start with one thing I did like about the movie, and it was the thing I was least expecting: Richard Dreyfuss is fantastic. Cast clearly as a nod to his character of Hooper in the shark movie of all shark movies, Jaws, Dreyfuss brings real professional acting and gravitas to the role and to a film which desperately needs it. His role is small, inserting only in flashback as we learn more and more about Cassidy’s trauma (which is entirely not necessary for a movie like this, just give me the shark action!), but each time he’s on screen he holds and controls the frame.
Meanwhile, the rest of the cast is severely overmatched, providing a real B-level ensemble performance. Not only is the acting underwhelming, but the action itself, highlighted by shoddy and cheap CGI sharks is also not up to the task of entertaining. There is a way to do a good shark movie and a bad way. There is some flexibility in there, for instance high level execution of special effects is one direction, but as Jaws managed to accomplish too, the mystery and dread of the unknown is also effective. Into the Deep accomplished neither, resulting in a poor viewing experience with limited thrills and even fewer impressive visuals.
To summarize everything that is wrong with this movie, it’s easy to point to a moment early on in the film when Gregg assures Cassidy everything will be alright, even though they are going diving ON THE ANNIVERSARY of her dad getting eaten by a shark and IN THE SAME WATERS where her dad was eaten by a shark. What the hell are we even doing here!? Never ever ever would this make sense. They are going treasure hunting, but how about somewhere else, or some other time? This is just a great example of how lazy the screenwriting in the film is, which is only matched by the uninspired creativity of the filmmaking. Avoid at all costs, unless you are a shark movie completist, but even then maybe save yourself from being chum.
Corndog Chats 