Review: 47 Meters Down

47 Meters Down has had a rough ride getting to theaters. Originally slated for a direct-to-DVD release, the film was saved due to good buzz and is now given a theatrical run. Watching the film in a packed theater with the lights down low, it is easy to see why so many saw the potential in the film. The audience I saw the film with screamed, hooted, and hollered and occasionally unintentionally laughed throughout this taught if slight, underwater thriller.

The film centers around sisters Lisa (Mandy Moore) and Kate (Claire Holt). They are on vacation in Mexico. Lisa has recently been dumped and is taking the breakup pretty hard. Kate suggests they go out one night to have some fun and the two end up meeting two guys who suggest they go scuba dive in a cage with sharks the next morning. The plan becomes even less of a good idea when they actually get to the boat the next day. The captain (Matthew Modine) doesn't exactly instill confidence in the already trepidacious Lisa. Kate pushes on her, suggesting that some underwater pictures will make her ex jealous, and soon they are in the water. The cable holding the cage breaks and soon the girls find themselves trapped on the seafloor with Great White sharks around them. 

Now a film like this is much like a shark, it has to keep moving to keep alive. Luckily the film is brisk and full of suspense because Lisa's motivation for putting herself in such danger is pretty weak. I don't think anyone would be convinced to swim with sharks just to make an ex jealous. That aside, director Johannes Roberts fills 47 Meters Down with a series of unfortunate events that increase the suspense exponentially. Seriously, these girls are super unlucky as just about everything that can go wrong does.

Last summer we were treated to The Shallows, a smart shark movie with Blake Lively. So how is 47 Meters Down different? Well The Shallows focused on how one girl could use her will and smarts to get herself out of a terrible situation. 47 Meters Down is far more about the horrors of such a situation. Lisa and Kate aren't written particularly smart. They serve more to generate thrills as we see them in peril. While this doesn't make the film progressive, it does make it an intense time at the movies. 

47 Meters Down looks great on the big screen. The film makes creative use out of the darkness of the depths of sea. There are scenes of flashlights searching the darkness that feel more akin to a slasher film set in the woods that a shark movie but that is just one of the creative visual elements the film utilizes. At a brisk 88 minutes, 47 Meters Down packs in jolts and frights and then escapes your mind as quickly as it came in. There isn't much here in terms of character or memorable moments but it does the job and gets out quick.

3/5