Varun Patel
Scientists estimate that we haven’t discovered anywhere between one-third to two-thirds of the species of organisms that live underwater. While it’s an open field for the exploration of humanity’s curiosity, it is also a rather mysterious one, given how much knowledge we do not know about what lurks beneath the surface. However, those very uncertainties also pave the way for some intriguing speculative fiction.
The upcoming movie, ‘Underwater’ makes use of these gaps in our knowledge of the deep-sea to promise a truly spine-chilling premise. It feels like a cinematic adaptation of all those listicles and online articles about strangely ghastly aquatic creatures we may have never seen or heard about.
Underwater Plot: What is it about?
The movie follows a group of marine researchers who are practically strangers. When an earthquake destroys their underwater laboratory, the crew must embark on a rather outlandish sounding plan of walking on the ocean’s surface to get to safety. However, unknown creatures in the depths of the ocean prove to be their biggest obstacle and nightmare.
According to pre-release information, ‘Underwater’ has also been categorized under the science-fiction genre. That indicates that the premise of the underwater laboratory and the crew’s attempt to scramble to safety might be more speculative.
Underwater Cast: Who is in it?
‘Underwater’ stars T.J. Miller, Kristen Stewart, Mamoudou Athie, Jessica Henwick and Vincent Cassel. With such an impressive cast, Disney will bank on the movie faring well at the box office to justify its late release.
When T.J. Miller was offered the role in 2017, he was rather surprised. Generally known for his comedy roles, the role came as a shock to the ‘Silicon Valley’ actor. In an interview, he had stated how the movie felt like a mixture of ‘The Abyss’ and ‘Aliens.’ Since then, the actor has appeared in the second installment of Marvel’s ‘Deadpool,’ reprising his role of Weasel from the first movie. He voiced Gene in ‘The Emoji Movie’ and also had a role in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Ready Player One.’
Kristen Stewart, who gained widespread audience recognition after ‘Twilight’, features in yet another movie with high production value post ‘Charlie’s Angels.’ In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she mentioned how the movie also serves to be “a really, dark scary meditation on isolation.”
Apart from the movie’s action-focused conflicts and sequences, it will also revolve around the relationship between the crew’s members who were complete strangers before. Kristen Stewart further revealed how her character, Norah’s personality is significantly less cheery and enthusiastic than the rest of the crew. Norah will also be seen having a romantic interest after forming a relationship with someone from her group. Only time will tell whether the romance of Stewart’s character ends up being a tragedy or a “happily ever after the disaster” tale.
Underwater Crew: Who is Behind It?
The movie is directed by William Eubank, for whom the $65 million budget for ‘Underwater’ would mean that this movie would be his most expensive outing as a director. He has directed two movies prior to ‘Underwater:’ ‘Love’ and ‘The Signal,’ both of which were science fiction movies. ‘The Signal’ had even premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
‘Underwater’ is based on a screenplay by Brian Duffield and Adam Cozad. Duffield was the writer for the science fiction movie, ‘Insurgent’ while Cozad is known for having written ‘The Legend of Tarzan.’
Underwater Release Date: When will it premiere?
The movie had completed shooting two years ago. However, it got delayed due to several events which were not directly related to the production. Firstly, Disney purchased Fox Entertainment, the production house that had commissioned ‘Underwater.’ But more jarringly, one of the movie’s principal cast members, T.J. Miller faced sexual misconduct allegations during the Me Too movement by his ex-girlfriend. He was also penalized for a making a fake bomb threat complaint in an intoxicated state. However, Disney has decided to release ‘Underwater’ on January 10, 2020.
Underwater Trailer:
The trailer for ‘Underwater’ promises all the scares that audiences expected from its inventive premise. You can watch it below. The trailer invites the viewers to a thrilling journey with the tagline, “Seven miles below the sea, something has awakened.”
The trailer confirms that the movie might not be an apt recommendation for people who are easily scared, have a heart condition or claustrophobia. It features the characters being challenged with every adversity imaginable. Limited oxygen and being trapped in a drowning, walled facility are just the beginning of their worries as they seek to walk on the ocean floor to another laboratory. When the dreaded creature finally arrives, it feels like a chilling monster that drags the characters downwards. Be warned: this might enhance your phobia of the deep seas, or give you one.
Moreover, the monster also seems to have a lair, making the whole face-off even more terrifying. The film does not seem to have an optimistic or hopeful tone either, which seems obvious given its horrifying story. Hence, it can be reasonably concluded that the movie’s protagonists might have to deal with some selfish group politics too, in what looks like a survival situation of the fittest. One thing is certain though: the movie presents a wildly uphill conflict which will make the characters’ journey of attempted resolution all the more engaging. We cannot wait to find out how the team manages to survive in such dire circumstances and whether some, if not all of them end up saving their lives from the jaws of impending doom.
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