Starring Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, TJ Miller, Jessica Henwick, John Gallagher Jr

Directed by William Eubank

20th Century Fox, out now

Miles beneath the surface of the ocean, a deep sea oil rig collapses. The panicked crew largely evacuate but traumatized engineer Nora (Stewart), haunted Captain Lucien (Cassel), fast talking engineer Paul (Miller) and scientist and comms tech Emily (Henwick) and Liam (Gallagher) are left behind. The rig is exploding, the sea is seconds from crushing them but the Captain has an idea. Walk to safety at a nearby shelter.

How hard could it be?

Kristen Stewart is phenomenally good here as a character who is clearly terrified and absolutely refuses to back down. She’s got that exact combination of pragmatism and compassion you see in emergency responders and she helps ground and underline the urgency of the movie every time she’s on screen.

The rest of the cast are pretty good too, even if TJ Miller is, again, playing TJ Miller. Cassel revels in playing a man who is almost silent and always haunted while Smith is exceptional as the everyman in the situation. They all feel believable and that sense of familiarity is backed by both the rock solid design work and the way the characters are offed. And believe me this one does have a body count.

But where the movie really comes into its own is the middle act. As the characters slow gain full understanding of what’s outside, an extended game of show and tell reveals that several of them have made serious mistakes. We get just enough of that plot to work and it gives the film a welcome secondary dimension that’s bolstered still further by the surprise appearance by one HP Lovecraft’s work towards the end. Added, purportedly, in post-production, it nonetheless gives the film a surprising, for want of a better word, depth.

It’s not all better under the sea though. The combination of darkness and silt is atmospheric for the first two acts and incomprehensible for some of the third. Likewise the most interesting stuff is sketched in which makes it both more interesting and more frustrating.

Verdict: Underwater tries old things in new ways and it works pretty well. Not a perfect movie by any means but clever and fun for sure. 7/10

Alasdair Stuart