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INTO THE DEEP (2024)
3 stars
Signature Entertainment. Digital Platforms Out Now. DVD and Blu Ray 3rd February
As a young girl Cassidy saw her Dad attacked and killed by a shark. So she is understandably a bit wary of going in the water anymore.
All grown up, Cassidy (Scout Taylor-Compton) is still haunted by the incident, though she tries to hide her anxiety from her husband Gregg (Callum McGowan). On the anniversary of her Dad’s death, they are visiting the same stretch of water, which she wants to do, to somehow exorcise the fear she has. Her husband works for a museum and they are going to look for a sunken ship in the hopes of finding treasure there. He has chartered a boat run by his friend Daemon Benz (Stuart Townsend). Along for the ride are another couple who are friends of the skipper – Pierre (Maverick Kang Jr.) and Itsara (Lorena Sarria).
Cassidy has flashbacks to her childhood – and to her relationship with Seamus, her marine biologist grandpa, played by one of the stars of the best known shark film … Welcome, Richard Dreyfuss, who adds good value to the proceedings.
There are reports of pirate activity and of heroin stolen from the Indonesian authorities — which of course we know will intersect with the plot very soon!
Despite her bad memories Cass tells her husband she wants to dive with him and the others to explore the wreck. Wouldn’t you know it our friendly neighbourhood Great White shark arrives and attacks and bites poor old expendable Pierre. They spot another ship which should be able to go faster back to shore and assist – of course this is the pirates, lead by Jordan (Jon Seda), and they are all soon being held captive.
Jordan realises they can use these experienced divers to go to the seabed to retrieve the heroin that has been dropped there, despite the presence of the deadly denizen who could attack at any moment.
A fairly good thriller, which is inevitably being sold as a shark movie. The constant flashbacks break up the narrative – I guess trying to show the fear Cass feels – and there seems to be an eco message shoehorned in about the ocean belonging to its inhabitants, as we get Dreyfuss popping in and out of the story.
The sharks themselves – which I assume are predominantly CGI – are pretty effective even if the blood looks rather fake. Ultimately this is a so so outing, more about the pirates than shark killings, with a psychological underpinning of facing your fear. It is not helped by the music score which tries desperately to instill a sense of tension and excitement.
Stick around for the credits where Dreyfuss asks for the audiences help in understanding sharks and protecting the various types of them and how they contribute to the eco system. A kind of mini lecture!
Steve Kirkham
