Deep Fear is one of the latest Jaws rip-offs to bless our screens. This time blending the premise of Jaws and Young Offenders into a shark infested crime story. That alone makes the film seem a lot more entertaining than it actually is but it still deserves praise for its premise. But is it still worth watching? Let’s look at Deep Fear….
Details of Deep Fear
Distributor: Brilliant Pictures, Busch Media Group, Gravitas Ventures, & Pioneer Films
Production Companies: Ashland Hill Media Finance, Brilliant Pictures, Canal+, Fred Films, & Media Finance Capital
Director: Marcus Adams
Producers: Jonathon Bross, Arnaud Christiaens, Bill Cunningham, Peter Dutton, Mark Foligno, Madalina Ghenea, & Micheal Lee
Scriptwriters: Robert Capelli Jr. & Sophia Eptamentitis
Main Cast: Madalina Ghena, Ed Westwick, Macarena Gomez, Stany Coppet, Ibrahima Gueye, & Marco Canadea
Released: 27th October 2023 (UK)
Running Time: 84 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Story of Deep Fear
Deep Fear starts by showing us a family sailing, only for the daughter to end up nearly drowning. Luckily the father pulls the daughter to safety and sits her in a life raft, only for him to drown looking for her mother. Time then jumps forward, and the young girl is in her late 20’s/early 30s. Naomi, and she has a love and unrivaled fascination for the ocean. Something that felt weird for me. She lost both her parents and nearly drowned when she was 8 how come she takes so much joy in the place they died? It does show an immense level of self-discipline and resilience not to let it bother you. Perhaps this is her way of still being close to them.
You are introduced to her love interest and her nephew Barny. Her nephew has the same love for the oceans and his enthusiasm for it is contagious. The plot of the film starts taking shape finally, with Naomi tasked with sailing on her own. In doing so she encounters two survivors, who’s ship had sunk. Straight away something feels off about these two. The woman survivor is seen visibly shaking but volunteers to go straight back into the water. This stook me as even odder than Naiomi loving the water. So, I had my suspicions. Suspicions that was proven correct when the survivors reveal themselves to be drug mules. Two that had just lost over a million pounds worth of Cocaine in a shipwrecked guarded by nothing but a Great White shark.
The two force Naiomi to dive and retrieve their lost merchandise. Can she collect all the cocaine, will they let her go if she does? Will they just kill her? All these questions and more race through your brain whilst you just lay back and enjoy the story as it unfolds.
Analysis of Deep Fear
Intriguing Story
Despite having an enthralling take on the killer shark formula, Deep Fear just fails to capitalize on it. It jumps straight into some action with the film showing us the protagonist’s backstory. Although, if her parents drowned to death, why is she obsessed with the ocean? I could never understand how the thing that killed both her parents seemed to bring her peace. As soon as you come across some mysterious shipwreck survivors you know something seems off, but then any tension built up dissipates in the over acting and cliches that follows.
Summary
To conclude Deep Fear actually breaks from form providing a genuinely creative idea for a story as well as showcasing sharks as placid, non-violent creatures. The first scene where you encounter the reef shark, it’s shown to be curious just like the divers. I liked this inclusion as it seemingly said to the audience yes sharks can attack people but they’re not these blood thirsty monsters depicted in media. As for the actual killer shark, the CGI was more than passable. Not to the quality of The Shallows but was definitely better than most Asylum produced nature horrors. Ed Westwick also gives it his all, even if it’s in a limited role. Giving a great performance as most of his scenes were delivered on his own in a shipyard.
The two leads chemistry had no right being so believable. Especially as they mainly communicated from walkie talkie. Yet the relationship and their love for one another always seemed very real, strengthening the romantic sub plot of the movie. However, you don’t go to watch a killer shark film for the romance and despite having a unique premise the story fails to deliver anything worth remembering. The fake out at the end could be seen from space, and actually let the ending down a bit, as I found it broke up the pacing of the ending. For these reasons I would highly recommend watching another nature horror but if you love Ed Westwick or have a shark film addiction (like me) the film is definitely worth a watch.
Overall Rating: 4.5 – Below Average!
Recommendation: No (Just watch a documentary to see amazing ocean cinematography)
