When you look into the abyss, it also looks at you – review of the movie “Depth of Fear”

… And she’s not going to waste a second. The Depth of Fear goes into action almost immediately, focusing on the minimal exposure included in the opening credits, only to throw us a few minutes later into the middle of the action-packed scenes. So what do we know? Well, if only we are eleven kilometers below the surface of the ocean, in an outpost that is the focal point of gigantic oil wells. We also know that the already extremely dangerous work environment of the crew members has just become truly lethal. The construction shakes its foundations, the heroes rush to run frantically. In order to save their lives and get out of the endless depths, they will have to use all their skills and perhaps face something they have never even dared to dream about.

Not really moody …

As the paragraph above shows, the Depth of Fear is a situational horror – that is, one in which the characters are faced with a whole series of problems to be solved. This type of approach guarantees an extremely fast pace of fun from the first moments to the final, but it necessarily sacrifices a deeper psychological feature of the characters or the expansion of the presented world. There is indeed a lack of some of this in Eubank’s film – although we receive enough information not to treat the participants of the drama only as paper blots, it will be difficult for us to identify with them. The same applies to the reality on the screen, which screams at the viewer that it is much more extensive than what is shown to us during an hour and a half screening …

As a result, the Depth of Fear is unable to fully use the potential of the place of action and lock the viewer in the icy embrace of the ocean depths. This is especially evident in the short moments of Eubank’s film, when we have a chance to take a breath – because it is in them that the Deep Fear shines brightest. Only then do we have the opportunity to see the impact of the abyss, constantly creaking under the pressure of the monstrous pressure of construction elements, or impenetrable darkness on the fragile human psyche. It is not difficult to break it in such conditions – and it is a pity that the creators did not decide to go this way, instead of constant escapes and somewhat predictable jumpscare.

… But definitely effective.

So there is something to regret, but on the other hand what we get is not so bad either. First of all, the Depth of Fear can look phenomenal. Basically everything – from the detailed scenery, to great-looking undersea CGI sequences, to perhaps the best-designed depth suits in science fiction cinema in general – causes little jaw drop during the screening. Already in the 2011 micro-budget Love from 2011, Eubank proved that he can visually charm, and in the Depths of Fear he only confirms it.

The actors cannot be faulted either. First of all, Kristen Stewart is doing great, and returning to the mainstream after almost a decade of appearances in independent productions, she proves that she can cope with the role of the heroine carrying the entire show on her shoulders. But not only her, because both Vincent Cassell as a tough, but extremely human captain, and quite unexpectedly TJ Miller in the role of a deep-sea gentleman, come naturally and do not give the impression of people who act scenes in a given way just because they were written in this way. The fact that the heroes filling the Deep Fear space managed to avoid being stereotypical idiots is one of the biggest advantages of the underwater bogey.

Ultimately, then, William Eubank’s film appears to be an unequal work, but certainly not one that would not be able to provide a good hour and a half of entertainment. If you do not mind clearly visible inspirations from major genres and focus on action instead of building a climate, you can give the production a chance without any worries.