The Shallows [M]

Steven Spielberg has, not ruined, but definitely primed our expectations of shark movies. Over forty years later, the brilliance and gut-churning horror of Jaws (1975) is still strong. So strong in fact that you can’t go into a cinema playing a shark movie without hearing those two haunting tuba notes, particularly during underwater scenes. But seriously, ultimate-classic-shark-movie references aside, the movie feature of this piece today is The Shallows and, despite some scenes where belief must be suspended, this is a pretty decent and impressive eco-horror flick! 

The film tells the story of Nancy (Blake Lively), a young medical student taking a break from studies who travels to a remote, nameless beach with sentimental significance. Whilst surfing, she is attacked 200 yards away from the shore by a shark. After escaping to a rock and resourcefully stitching up the great gash in her leg, the real trial begins as she slowly tallies her slim chances of rescue and survival. With death seeming imminent, her phone on the shore, and no one knowing where she or the beach is, Nancy must dig deep and exercise all her strength and will if she’s to make it out of the shallows alive. 

Right from the start, we’re dealing with classic and ever-affective eco-horror movie themes: namely isolation and the threat of nature. The best thing about this movie is its attention to the plot. The excruciating isolation of our heroine is explained perfectly and plausibly, as is the fact that there is a great white shark hanging around. Shark enthusiasts will tell you that sharks are not territorial and what is most enjoyable about this movie is that there is a perfectly natural reason why there is a great white shark hanging around shallower waters (go see the movie if you must find out why, I’m not spoiling anything). 

So, we have this injured woman stranded on a rock for the better part of 2 days under siege by a great white shark. It sounds simple, and indeed it is, but what makes you cringe and shudder and scream quietly is the way in which this story is shot. 

Many of the underwater scenes are your classic misleading-monster-perspective shots where the camera is situated underneath the surfer mimicking the shark’s point of view, but a good many shots in this movie are not so much out to show how monstrous nature can be, but how beautiful. A lot of the underwater shots are crisp and vibrantly light and colourful Gopro shots that almost look too good to be natural. Set against a contemporary song, these ‘wondrous nature’ scenes alleviate some of the suspense that automatically ensues as soon as the camera goes underwater. Although, it does mean that you’re being battered around a bit in terms of suspense build-up and pay-off. They also make the moments of shark impact all the more terrifying. 

Add to them the shudder-inducing sounds of underwater screams and flesh scraping against coral and rock, and your hands are instantly triggered to shield your eyes and ears from the horror. 

However, like its besieged heroine, the film isn’t calmly floating all the time. A few not-so-subtle cleavage and posterior close-up and slow motion shots serve absolutely no purpose other than to draw attention to how sexy blonde surfer-chick Blake Lively is, which you can take or leave. 

Also, there are one or two scenes (both relatively climactic) where belief must be suspended regarding Nancy’s epic battle with this shark. Some of the moves she pulls are cool, but trigger rational parts of your brain to think aloud ‘she’d so be dead right now’ or ‘there’s no way she could move out of the way fast enough’, but aside from these few mis-strokes, the film itself is actually really enjoyable and it does everything right resulting in you cringing, squirming, and bringing your hands (and in my case knees) up to your face in horror. 

Starring: Blake Lively, Oscar Jaenada, Brett Cullen, Sedona Legge, Pablo Calva, Diego Espejel, and Sully ‘Steven’ Seagull.