I was going to start this review by saying it is impossible to make a shark film without it being at least a bit scary. But, one look at the Syfy channel listings proves that is not true, so I will revise that to say the film needs to remain at least a bit credible as well. This just about manages that despite the dubious set-up.
Lisa (Mandy Moore) and Kate (Claire Holt) are sisters on holiday together in Mexico. One drunken night they meet a couple of local guys. As they fancy them, and because Lisa is desperate to get her boyfriend back who has just dumped her for being too boring, they agree to go on an unlicensed boat trip with them. The excursion involves them putting on scuba gear, being lowered in a cage and pouring blood into the water in order to attract sharks.
I think you would have to be some sort of idiot to agree to that, so I was surprised I was able to get over my dislike of the pair. I found when the winch broke and their cage plummeted to the ocean floor, things became genuinely tense. The pair made decisions that seemed logical enough, the sharks were suitably threatening, and though the water was murky the action was easy enough to follow.
Director Johannes Roberts is carving himself out a career making decent genre films that won’t ever be viewed as classics but make satisfying entertainment. 47 Meters Down does that, just like his last two movies – The Other Side of the Door and Storage 24. However, it does have a couple of glaring flaws. Some plot developments are signposted, such as the ship’s captain (Matthew Modine) spelling out the dangers of changing oxygen canisters and twice explaining how the women might get the bends. Also, the ending itself was botched. In fact, there were three potential endings, the first was well executed, if a little predictable, the second bleak but bold, but the one used was very anticlimactic.
If you are really looking for a great film about the peril of sharks, Jaws remains the go-to movie, or if you want a documentary try Blue Water White Death, which has some similarities with 47 Meters Down. But if you want a neat little chiller, almost up to the quality of last year’s The Shallows, you could do a lot worse than seeking this out.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10