Claustrophobic horror films are usually fun, and you cannot get much more claustrophobic than six-and-a-half miles beneath the ocean’s surface, in the deepest area of the Pacific Ocean. This film is rather derivative, however, something along the lines of The Abyss meets Alien. Give the filmmakers credit, though, for attempting to create something a little different, because some of the time it works pretty well.

William Eubanks’ film begins with an earthquake that destroys much of a deep sea exploratory drilling rig, killing most of its 213 residents. Norah (Kristen Stewart) and two other survivors eventually find the rig’s leader, Captain Lucien (Vincent Cassel) and two others, and try to evacuate the rig before it comes down on them. They barely make it out, trying to walk across the sea bottom to another station, when they discover that the earthquake was not a naturally occurring phenomenon.

Cool visuals keep the film tight and interesting, alternating between shots of the ruined rig and environs to closeups of the survivors in their armored diving helmets. The film employs light exceedingly well, though I don’t know how realistic it would be at depth. Then there are the monsters which cause all the havoc, which are frightening and horrific. Again, I’m not sure if I buy this particular type of monster; I would be far more afraid of the megalodon sharks that live down there.

The film’s climax, which reminds me somewhat of the clever old British film Night of the Demon (aka Curse of the Demon), is over the top and not as convincing as it ought to be, but it is spectacular. And while Underwater is not classic monster movie stuff, it is well paced, pretty well acted, grimly grotesque and fairly effective. It is also the last official film of Twentieth Century-Fox Studios, which has now been absorbed by the Disney company and will now be known as Twentieth Century Studios. It really is the end of an era. ☆ ☆ 1/2. 20 January 2020.