Alisdair Cunningham

I rarely turn a film off half way, and maybe I should have watched it all the way through to give a more complete review, but I was so confused and disappointed by this film. Not confused because I couldn't keep up with the plot, but confused at what they were trying to achieve with it. The concept is interesting; 4 kids stranded at summer camp during an alien invasion. However, the characters and scripting was dreadful. You don't watch an action film for the dialogue perhaps, but I rarely get irritated not only with the characters (I don't think they were intended to be annoying to the audience) or the interaction between them. 3 of the main characters make it difficult to watch. Most irritating is the "comic relief" child who over dramatises and also cusses all the time while trying to act overly cool. Very grating. The humour wasn't right and his cool persona came off as arrogant, and rude. The 'mute' Asian girl, again, needlessly annoying to watch. You're supposed to care for her even though she is only rude and can speak if she wants to but refused to. Even when an alien invasion comes. And the unexplained older boy who turns up like a mystery hero, calm and charming, acting older than his screen age. No chemistry between the actors and poor dialogue made it too frustrating to keep watching after half an hour. Also, the other characters, camp leaders, were talking to parents and the kids there as if they were all adults or late teens. Mature jokes for young kids, might have worked in a young adult type film, but this was for a kids camp?! Again, poor script, irritating characters. While the main character, the nervous boy, seemed the least annoying to watch and the only one worth caring about, the rest made it not worth finding out why. I guess someone thought having four kids band together in 'Stranger Things' type style is what the directors were hoping for to jump on the coat tails, and that's what I was expecting, the actors, script, and plot, make it not worth the effort. I usually give films a go even if they are B - movies, but I couldn't get lost in this one because it was too jarring and cringy to watch. Never sure if this was aimed at families or young adults.

Was nervous watching this one, as concept sounded a bit dull (people trapped underwater) and critic reviews were poor. Also, trailers can be deceiving, and you always fear they mislead the viewer into thinking the film is something it isn't. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I expected a B movie but this felt tense and believable. That's the joy of science fiction right, it isn't actually real, but part of you feels it could be possible. The acting didn't make me question the characters actions or remind me this was just a film. I was gripped from the first minute. It's very easy to say this is a hybrid between The Abyss and Alien, and if you liked both of those, definitely watch this. But it is a different beast. It hits the ground running and you are faced with shocks and surprises that keep you as breathless as the characters facing them. I didn't find myself laughing and going "oh yeah right, sure..." where there is a blatant cliche or you know what's going to happen next. Ok, there are things that have been done before but it's hard to break new ground and to be fair the mystery did feel new. I don't know why the reviews for this are so bad. I wouldn't say it was the best sci fi film, but if you want to be entertained, thrilled, even shocked / scared, and root for characters along the way, then give this a go. Having only seeing Kristen Stewart in romantic teen films I wasn't sure she could hold this role, but I quickly fell for her character and think she played it brilliantly. The moments when you see her dealing with the shock made them more believable. Only downside I would say, and I kinda expected it going in, is that the visuals are a bit tricky. To be expected with an underwater film. Lots of rapid camera movement, screen is very dark, creature is a blur. You strain your eyes trying to see what they are seeing. Overall the aesthetics and audio are brilliant, you feel claustrophobic and stuck in a dark space, while somehow having this ominous sense of something big happening around you. And that gets better as the move reaches its climax. It's just a shame that in some parts it's a bit tricky to make out everything they expect you to see. Don't expect this to be a monster movie where you get to see the monster on screen from all angles clearly, but this is a monster movie done well where you see enough to go "I'm not entirely sure what I just saw, but I saw enough to know it's scary as ****".