'Something in the Water' leaves audience treading water
With a shark survival film title like that you'd hope to see plenty of the actual something in the water, but unfortunately - like the characters in the film - the audience is left treading in the water.
Keeping the shark hidden from view is nothing new, just look at the apex predator of shark movies, Jaws (1975). That was out of necessity due to the uncooperative mechanical shark, which saw it's director Steven Spielberg do what Hitchcock would do.
First time director Hayley Easton Street clearly had a limited budget and the unseen shark is effective, especially in the first attack which is a memorable and well staged sequence which certainly roots it in reality. And the aftermath and its effects certainly make for a shocking and lasting impression.
For the most part the shark is depicted by a circling fin and when we do see it swimming towards its next intended victim from above it is a rather lacklustre CGI that looks like something from a PS2 game. And then when we see the shark in full it is not only fleeting but unconvincing. The shark in Under Paris (2024) was more convincing.
Something in the Water, written by Cat Clarke, approaches its subject matter seriously, unlike other recent shark survival fare like Shark Bait (2022) or Great White (2021) and it does take tine to build up its five characters and their actions in the situation they are thrust into never don't seem natural or outlandish which helps ground it in reality.
The fivesome - a quintet if you will and too many to all make it to the end credits of course - are on a final friendship fling boat trip on the eve of one of their weddings, however the adventure excursion soon turns into a nightmare and naturally no one knows they are there and they can't get a phone signal to raise the alarm after one of the party is brutally attacked in the leg.
Racing her back to shore and safety the speeding boat they are on crashes through coral, not only disabling it but creating a hole in the bottom of it that's big enough for Ben Gardner"s head. Soon the five women (Hiftu Quasem, Natalie Mitson, Tashani Bent, India Jean-Jacques and Ellouise Shakespeare-Hart) are forced to take to the water, hampered by their unconscious bleeding friend and another who can't swim.
Perhaps the shark film that Something in the Water most closely emulates, with it's opening trauma that gets constantly resisted and an all female party pited against a shark, is The Reef: Stalked (2022) and that didn't really deliver either. Stranded bobbing up and down in the ocean, Something in the water also echoes Open Water (2003) and later doffs its cap to The Shallows (2016), one of the more popular and well received shark films of recent years. Which makes this one suffer even more.
There clearly must be something in the water of the creatives of recent sharksploitation films as the likes of The Black Demon (2023) and The Requin (2022) have all taken the rather odd decision of featuring sharks on their posters - all essentially paying homage to the iconic Roger Kastel Jaws poster featuring the great white swimming up to the film's first victim Chrissie Watkins - but then not delivering on the shark action quota.
It's great that time is spent building up human characters that we care about and are well rounded and there are some great pockets of humour and a real sense of camaraderie. Although I'd argue the homophobic trauma at the beginning is misplaced and should have been slowly revealed throughout. In the end that was far more brutal than anything the shark did.
Just don't forget the character of the shark, unfortunately that is exactly what happened here, so much so that the shark almost feels incidental, which is a shame as with a little more focus on the something in the water we'd have ended up with something far better to watch as a shark film, as it is this struggles to be categorised as even that.
This is more about the survival of and interplay between the struggling women and their increasingly desperate situation than the shark. That does lead to some genuinely heartbreaking character moments, including one ultimate sacrifice you don't even see occur on screen, but is still a sucker punch.
And these women are far from incapable and - like the strong female characters in the Scream series - come to the proceedings with some knowledge of sharks and how to keep them at bay, such as bopping them on the nose, in the gills or in the eye.
What is refreshing - compared to most shark films - is that the shark is not depicted as a monster. It is just taking the opportunity presented to it and keeps coming back whilst the food supply is there.
It is also highly likely to be the only shark film to feature a song from S Club 7!
And it's not as if female led shark films haven't delivered before, with the previously mentioned The Shallows leading the pack, but 47 Meters Down (2017) and 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019) also delivered on the suspense front and shark action. On this occasion it is more a case for better luck next time ladies.
Something in the Water also featured in our list of the shiver of shark films expected in 2024, view the full list here: https://thedailyjaws.com/blog/the-daily-jaws-guide-to-shark-movies-coming-in-2024
2 out of 5 stars
Words by Dean Newman
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