Summary
I only liked Something in the Water to an extent because I like killer shark movies. Apart from that, this is a poorly made thriller.
Director Hayley Easton Street attempts to pull off something that is hard to come by: creating an original thriller based on killer sharks. Aptly titled Something in the Water, this film slowly gets better as it reaches the final act of survival.
Admittedly, the shaky start to the movie does not help. It begins with the couple, Meg (Hiftu Quasem) and Kayla (Natalie Mitson), walking the streets. Suddenly, they are victims of a homophobic attack by a group of women.
The movie then flits to years later, and for some reason, Meg and Kayla have broken up and have not spoken to each other since that awful attack.
However, they’ve been unknowingly lumped together again at a destination wedding in the Caribbean for their friend Lizzie. The partying begins, but when the friends sail to a deserted island, they are subjected to a shark-infested ocean.
By the time it reaches the second act, the relationship between Meg and Kayla makes sense, but the director makes a huge mistake by making such an amateurish start to a shark movie. It’s void of emotion and almost forgettable. The story in the Caribbean and the opening scenes feel like two different movies. It’s certainly a strange choice of direction. It would have made sense if the story had started in the Caribbean.
However, once the women are stranded in the sea with a broken boat, Something in the Water gets interesting. Survival instincts kick in, and suddenly, the women are having a sobering experience. Some moments involve lashing out at each other as they are subjected to a shark attack, one by one.
It’s not a film that needs to be taken seriously by any means (what shark horror film does), but having this group of women experience such a terrifying ordeal is particularly compelling on the eve of a wedding. The horror itself is that a bride-to-be is experiencing such an event so close to the supposed “best day of her life.”
The scenario beats the performances in Something in the Water. At times, the acting appears amateurish, or the script could be poor.
There are moments where the women play a “blame game” in the most illogical times, or the bride-to-be (Lizzie) is complaining that her wedding is ruined despite seeing her friend being ravaged by a shark. Average performances coupled with a bad script is a poor formula. It doesn’t make sense. If anything, being subjected to shark-infested oceans should revert to a horror where panic takes over. The priority for survival should take precedence. There’s no time for Karens in these scenarios. Yet these characters are barely upset at the worst of times.
But I can’t put my finger on it. There’s something that’s still watchable about Something in the Water. Maybe it’s because Jaws-like movies are so enticing. I couldn’t stop smiling at the fact that one of the leading characters is called Meg, which is undoubtedly a tribute to the 2018 shark movie. Or is it just a coincidence? Maybe the director has a soft spot for Jason Statham battling a shark.
Something in the Water needed some fine-tuning, but it’s still watchable. Whether it goes amongst the greats of sea horrors. Well, I’m going to say no.
Read More: Something in the Water Ending Explained – Who Died? Who Survived?
