By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 8 seconds ago
Long ago, James Cameron released The Abyss and proved that some of the best science fiction should focus more on the depths of the ocean rather than the depths of space. It can be hard to find other films that scratch that particular itch, but such a killer movie is just a click away. Stop everything and stream Underwater on Disney+ right away.
Underwater focuses on workers drilling at the bottom of the ocean when an earthquake unexpectedly destroys their facility. That soon turns out to be the least of their problems, as they must now deal with mysterious creatures running loose. As things go from bad to worse, it’s a race for survival among a ragtag crew who have to worry about death at the hands of either murderous monsters or Mother Nature herself.
While Underwater’s plot offers a solid blend of sci-fi and horror worth tuning into, it’s also worth watching for the killer cast. The cast is led by Kristen Stewart, and if you haven’t watched her since those sloppy Twilight films, you may be pleasantly surprised by her charm and range as an actor. The movie also stars Jessica Henwick (who had a great small part in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) and T.J. Miller (whose foul-mouthed sidekick was one of the best parts of the first Deadpool film).
Science fiction movies don’t need to have cutting-edge special effects, but it certainly helps. We’re happy to report that Underwater is one of the most visually stunning sci-fi films of the past decade, and its stylish aesthetics put most bigger-budget films to shame. After you start watching, it won’t take very long for you to see why the movie received a nomination for Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Feature.
When Underwater first came out, critics didn’t know quite what to make of it. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently has 48 percent from critics, but audiences rate the film higher at 60 percent. Critics mostly complained about the story feeling a bit derivative of other sci-fi thrillers that came before, but even the harshest critics admitted that the film had an amazing cast and very stylish direction.
Kinder critic John DeFore praised the movie’s great creature design and gory scares, noting that audiences looking for that kind of thing won’t lose much sleep over the film’s lack of an original story or intense character development.
It’s almost impossible to watch Underwater without comparing it to James Cameron films such as The Abyss and Aliens, and that’s unfortunate because the movie suffers by comparison. It’s not necessarily as good as those legendary science fiction films that came before it, but it still delivers an awesome combination of chills, thrills, and underwater spills. It’s one of the most unique creature features of the millennium.