![\"Nell](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792324700_675_0ba62b7b46bdd8073bb98582da7ff07bf1cbaab7c97192d0c5c26033b3b8e72c.png\")
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October 18, 2026 \u2014 4:00pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n No gift articles left<\/p>\n You’ve used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.<\/p>\n Close<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n For many, Whalefall will unlock a new nightmare. The film follows scuba diver Jay (Austin Abrams) as he attempts to retrieve his estranged father\u2019s remains, which have fallen to the depths of the Pacific Ocean. But unluckily for him, he gets caught in a struggle between a giant squid and a sperm whale. Despite his best efforts to escape, Jay is sucked into the whale\u2019s mouth, swallowed, and sent on a journey through its innards.<\/p>\n Based on Daniel Kraus\u2019 2023 novel of the same name, the film is ultimately a story of survival. Director Brian Duffield insists they made it as scientifically accurate as possible<\/a>, even consulting whale experts throughout production. It isn\u2019t untouched territory either \u2013 a Venezuelan kayaker survived being swept into the mouth of a humpback whale last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n But what are the actual odds of escaping the belly of the Earth\u2019s largest toothed predator? And could you even get gulped by one in the first place?<\/p>\n Macquarie University whale scientist Dr Vanessa Pirotta and professor of veterinary anatomy and marine science at The University of Queensland Michael Noad offer some answers.<\/p>\n Are sperm whales capable of swallowing a fully grown human?<\/p>\n Michael Noad: [Sperm whales\u2019] oesophagi aren\u2019t very big \u2013 maybe 20cm in diameter in a big male. But the oesophagus can stretch when you swallow something, and if they swallow giant squid whole, they might just be able to swallow a person.<\/p>\n A big squid is quite a streamlined sort of thing to swallow, though. A person, especially with a scuba tank on their back, is not. It seems highly unlikely.<\/p>\n Dr Vanessa Pirotta: Sperm whales don\u2019t munch down on food like we do. There\u2019s no chewing involved. But if this guy\u2019s got a scuba tank on, the sperm whale isn\u2019t dumb. They\u2019re used to eating things that are squishy \u2026 the tank would be enough for the whale to be like: \u201cSomething\u2019s not quite right here\u201d.<\/p>\n If swallowed, where exactly would you go once past the mouth? <\/p>\n VP: You\u2019d go through the oesophagus. There\u2019s no option, like for us, where you can go to the oesophagus or lungs \u2026 because the lungs aren\u2019t connected [to its digestive tract]. It\u2019s one way down and usually, one way out. You\u2019d go down to the forestomach \u2013 they\u2019ve got a multi-chambered stomach system. That has no gastric acid secretion, it just grinds and crushes the food.<\/p>\n Could you breathe inside the whale without a diving tank?<\/p>\n MN: It\u2019s very unlikely there would be any gas of any kind in there \u2026 It [also] looks like the whale might do a deep dive. This would simply kill the diver. The pressure inside the stomach would be the same as the water pressure outside \u2026 the scuba gear would keep supplying you with air at ever-increasing pressure so you could still breathe, at least up to a point, but the air would be used up faster and faster. You might only have minutes. The effects of the pressure itself wouldn\u2019t be good for you, and then shooting up again in the other direction would probably cause massive barotrauma and the bends, all of which would almost certainly be fatal, even if you weren\u2019t inside a whale.<\/p>\n What would it be like inside the stomach?<\/p>\n MN: The stomach would likely contract tightly around the diver, making it impossible to move. If you were then pushed into the next stomach, there would be acid, but perhaps not enough to burn your skin immediately. It would certainly badly sting and damage your eyes.<\/p>\n Related Article The smell probably wouldn\u2019t be too bad. Things don\u2019t rot in the stomach, especially the forestomach, which is about powerful muscular contraction and grinding things up, not chemical digestion. Even if in the middle stomach, things are digested over hours by the acidic environment. Semi-digested food then passes into the intestines where more digestion takes place.<\/p>\n If you get bad-smelling gas, it\u2019s probably further down the intestines rather than in the stomach. Put crudely, farts smell worse than burps.<\/p>\n Could you escape through the blowhole?<\/p>\n VP: There\u2019s no option to go from the throat to the nose. It\u2019s anatomically impossible.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the most realistic avenue through which to escape a whale?<\/p>\n VP: There\u2019s no way you could get out. You\u2019d be dead by the time you go out through the poo chute. There\u2019s no way unless the animal regurgitates you.<\/p>\n Overall, how accurate does Whalefall look regarding whale behaviour and anatomy?<\/p>\n VP: There\u2019s definitely been scientific consultation, which is cool. There needs to be high praise for bringing to life what a sperm whale is. But how you watch this movie and how I watch this movie will be very different.<\/p>\n What strikes me as cinematic gold is the fact that you have an incredibly deep-diving whale and a deep-diving squid, and somehow the sperm whale has failed to catch that squid at depths and is remaining on the chase up to the surface. Sperm whales use echolocation, biological sonar, and all of that happens in the dark ocean depths. But feeding activity is happening at the surface in this movie. How fabulously convenient.<\/p>\n Related Article MN: I don\u2019t think it looks very accurate. But the idea of someone being swallowed by a whale is ancient \u2026 it\u2019s part of the history of myths and legends that, in a way, underlie our society [think Book of Jonah, Pinocchio]. So, I\u2019m not going to completely pan this as a movie. Some sort of modern version of this fable isn\u2019t completely off the mark, and the director has \u201caltered\u201d facts to make the impossible possible. Is it scientifically accurate? No. Is it a good story? Sure, and one that\u2019s part of the rich tapestry of our society and relationship with nature.<\/p>\n Finally, how likely is it that someone could survive being swallowed by a sperm whale (on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being absolutely impossible)?<\/p>\n MN: One.<\/p>\n VP: I would say two because I\u2019m going to give it some cinematic leeway. We need this \u2013 anything to get people to connect [with whales]. Thank God we\u2019re getting Hollywood to engage with marine biology. I\u2019m \u201cwhale-coming\u201d of this movie.<\/p>\n Whalefall is in cinemas now.<\/p>\n Must-see movies, interviews and all the latest from the world of film delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our Screening Room newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n No gift articles left<\/p>\n You’ve used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.<\/p>\n Close![\"Austin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/efd9b73ebee8caf3e810234319e58e8a0219ce64.jpeg\")
Austin Abrams\u2019 character is sucked into the belly of the beast \u2013 literally. What are his actual chances of survival? Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n![\"Don\u2019t](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/f865ede65836e0b8d3031e87865aad8bd3b73bf7.jpeg\")
Don\u2019t get in the water, Jay.Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/27e46b32800d26cef1b403f76750f64bf35c1476.jpeg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Nell](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792324704_843_0ba62b7b46bdd8073bb98582da7ff07bf1cbaab7c97192d0c5c26033b3b8e72c.png\")
Nell Geraets<\/a> is a Culture reporter at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"October 18, 2026 \u2014 4:00pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":932554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134],"class_list":["post-932553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=932553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/932553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/932554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=932553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=932553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=932553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}