Why did we all sleep on "Underwater"?
In one of my recent “I know I should go to bed but I just don’t wanna” nights, I ended up on Netflix, watching the Kristen Stewart sci fi thriller Underwater, which was a huge bomb at the box office at the start of 2020 (remember the start of 2020? We were so young). Y’all, we did this movie wrong! It’s actually pretty good!
The plot: A group of researchers on a, you guessed it, underwater facility have to survive when the ocean floods the facility; with no way out, they have to venture out into the ocean to get to other stations in the facility, but SURPRISE there are also sea monsters out there. Obviously this type of plot will not be everyone’s jam (I know for a fact Jocelyn would rather eat glass than watch a movie with this plot), but if it’s yours, give this one a shot!
I give Underwater full credit for starting this movie almost immediately with action, instead of spending a bunch of time setting up who all the characters are and how their backstories will affect their arcs. The script smartly weaves that character development throughout the action and suspense, and also knows that you don’t need to know a ton about these people, because we’re all here for the sea monsters.
Kirsten Stewart is decent in the lead! The more I see of Stewart, the more I like her as an actress. She has to spend most of the movie in her underwear but she looks great and kicks some butt. And we also get appearances from two of my crushes, John Gallagher, Jr. and Mamoudou Athie. Fair warning, though, TJ Miller does show up for a while, but I don’t think you’ll mind to be spoiled that he doesn’t survive the film.
I don’t want to spoil the big reveal at the end of this movie, but I’ll say it’s one that not all viewers will get — however, it’s done in a way that even if you don’t get it, it doesn’t take away from the end of the movie. I know that sounds very mysterious and I worry I’ve built it up too much. All I’m saying it’s that Underwater is pretty decent and y’all should maybe give it a shot.
That’s all for me today, gorgeous.
Love,
Kat
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