The Shallows

[kevinknapman]

'Unknown' and 'Non-Stop' director Jaume Collet-Serra takes a brief break from throwing Liam Neeson into increasingly implausible situations for The Shallows, a brisk and effective shark attack thriller.

Blake Lively plays Nancy, a medical student taking an extended break from her studies to visit and surf on a secret, secluded beach that her late mother had visited when she was pregnant with her. This idyllic paradise soon becomes anything but however when she encroaches on the feeding ground of a Great White Shark. Not taking too kindly to her intrusion it bites and wounds her, leaving her stranded on a small rock 200 yards from shore with only a wounded seagull for company, high tide quickly approaching and the shark slowly circling.

With the serious likes of Jaws a distant memory, Shark movies have been mired in the schlocky B-movie backwaters for several years now thanks to the likes of the Mega-Shark series and the, miraculously, even more absurd films that stuck the killer beasts in tornados, avalanches and deserts. So it comes as something of a relief to find a movie like The Shallows, which for most of its running time has more in common with tense nail-biting films such as 2003's Open Water.

Wisely keeping it's shark to the shadows for most of the film with the occasional glimpse (the low budget and occasionally dodgy CGI elsewhere no doubt a factor), the film relies instead on the impressive Lively, who acquits herself well to a role that has her on screen for the majority of the film. Whether she's squeezing herself into a tight wetsuit, stitching up an unpleasantly gory leg wound or talking to the similarly wounded bird she names Steven Seagull (listed in the end credits as Sully 'Steven' Seagull) she ensures the film remains watchable throughout.

Collet-Serra also manages to show a bit more restraint than usual, offering up several simple but effectively tense set pieces. It's only in the last 10 minutes that he succumbs to his tendency for daftness with the shark coming aggressively out into the open and the film starting to resemble the kind of shark film that it had been purposely avoiding up until that point. Thankfully Collet-Serra doesn't drag this out for too long and as a result doesn't completely unbalance the movie.

That slight misstep aside, The Shallows is a solid entry into an increasingly maligned genre and at 86 minutes never outstays its welcome.
Worth a look.

[McG]

Saw this today using my Limitless card. I found it to be an ok film as nothing else new at the time I had gone to cinema. I was surprised to see that all the previews were horror films and I began to worry that I had mistakenly gone to a horror film which is probably my least favourite genre. Thankfully, this was not a horror film but certainly not a feel good film. At times it reminded me of the first time I watched "Jaws" . . .the shock of the shark and what destruction it could cause.
Blake Lively was very good in her role particularly as much of the film was only her on screen. Not the best but not the worst film.
Marks 6.5/10

[The Sparrow]

I found this to be extremely tense and some scenes were truly horrific. Any film that preys on your phobias and fears is a horror film for me.

Hopefully, Steven Seagull will get more work in the future.

[McG]

Hopefully, Steven Seagull will get more work in the future.

Watching tv while I am reading this and what came on . . . an advert for Hastings Direct Insurance and who is in it . . . a talking Steven Seagull! Someone obviously saw the film before you, The Sparrow

[The Sparrow]

Hopefully, Steven Seagull will get more work in the future.

Watching tv while I am reading this and what came on . . . an advert for Hastings Direct Insurance and who is in it . . . a talking Steven Seagull! Someone obviously saw the film before you, The Sparrow

He obviously tipped a wing at them... birds of a feather and all that.

[McG]

Hopefully, Steven Seagull will get more work in the future.

Watching tv while I am reading this and what came on . . . an advert for Hastings Direct Insurance and who is in it . . . a talking Steven Seagull! Someone obviously saw the film before you, The Sparrow

He obviously tipped a wing at them... birds of a feather and all that.

Good one, The Sparrow ps Is Steven Seagull a relative of yours?

[scootermcc]

Hopefully, Steven Seagull will get more work in the future.

Watching tv while I am reading this and what came on . . . an advert for Hastings Direct Insurance and who is in it . . . a talking Steven Seagull! Someone obviously saw the film before you, The Sparrow

I didn't know that they had a TV in the Odeon Braehead

Is that not where you live ?

[The Sparrow]

"McG"]

Hopefully, Steven Seagull will get more work in the future.

Watching tv while I am reading this and what came on . . . an advert for Hastings Direct Insurance and who is in it . . . a talking Steven Seagull! Someone obviously saw the film before you, The Sparrow

He obviously tipped a wing at them... birds of a feather and all that.

Good one, The Sparrow ps Is Steven Seagull a relative of yours?

Distant relative, born on the wrong side of the nest, his dad was away at sea a lot.

[McG]

I didn't know that they had a TV in the Odeon Braehead

Is that not where you live ?

You're almost right, scootermcc, though I do vary my Limitless trips between the Quay and Braehead so they don't think "here she comes again!"

[ClareBarr]

I saw this yesterday, really enjoyed it and boyfriend & I found it very gripping and tense. I enjoyed Adrift and Open Water a few years ago too, & there were similarities but I liked the idea that the main character this time had a medical background so knew what to do to tend to her wounds.