The British horror film “47 Meters Down” tells the tale of two young women on vacation in Mexico who get far more of a thrill then they bargained for during a shark cage swim session. Sisters, Lisa (Mandy Moore) and Kate (Claire Holt) meet two charming young men as they try to lick Lisa’s post-break up wounds during a night out somewhere Mexico. When the guys offer to take them out on a shark swim adventure, Kate pushes Lisa to go ahead and do it in an effort to prove she is not as boring as her ex claims.
The film spends about twenty minutes building up this background story, but fails to create any moments for the audience to connect with the characters.
The whole premise is built around what clearly is a poor decision as a rusty old boat pulls into the marina to board the sisters. At this point forward, the entire rest of the film is shot primarily from Lisa’s point of view deep inside the ocean.
As the cage the girls are in first lowers down, there are a few shots of sharks that are very beautiful and thrilling. But after the predictable breakage of the winch holding the cage to the boat ensues, the girls sink to the bottom and attempt to fight for survival.
At this point forward it becomes a bit frustrating to watch because the entire film is very dark and you only get a few glimpses of a shark here or there. If there had been a bit more character build up or story line including rescue efforts, this may have been a theater worthy view. Audiences definitely won’t get as much excitement as they did from other shark films like that of “Jaws” or “Sharknado.” Mostly because this film attempts to take on a more realistic feel. Unfortunately it falls a bit flat and the audience finds comedy in what was supposed to be serious.
I give “47 meters Down” 1 out of 5 stars.
