The Shallows

Jaume Collet-Serra's shark thriller starring Blake Lively offers some unsettling scenes, but most of the groundwork was done by Jaws four decades ago

Dark, turbulent waters are to be distrusted. Even feared. If you can’t see what’s beneath the waves, then it’s best to assume that there’s something under them – waiting. Jaws came out 41 years ago, but it’s still making the sea close to a no-go area for many. But Bruce (the nickname Spielberg and co. had for the film's mechanical shark) isn’t quite as scary as he was in 1975. A new, shiny, fully CGI shark is, apparently, what’s needed. Cue Jaume Collet-Serra and his latest offering, The Shallows.

Nancy (Blake Lively) has travelled out to a secluded patch of Mexico’s coastline to experience a treasured moment from her recently deceased mother’s youth, which involved a surfboard, a beach, and crashing waves. Rather than deal with the loss of her mother in the present, Nancy is searching for her in the past. End of character development; enter shark, stage right.

Breaking down the goings-on in the water would spoil much of the fun and suspense of what follows. The film barely passes the 80-minute mark and is so light on plot that discussing almost any of it would mean explaining away huge chunks of onscreen action. Fortunately sheer momentum and a fairly engaging turn from Lively keep the story from becoming so slight that it might wash away.

Looking at Collet-Serra’s CV, it’d be easy to palm him off as a journeyman director, but his films (which include House of Wax, Orphan and Non-Stop) are often surprisingly exuberant and inventive. The shark attacks here are as unsettling as any in cinema, and the cinematography is a cut above, especially considering this is very much B-movie fare.

But a lot of the hard work has been done by Jaws. The tension was in-built from the get go. The Shallows relies heavily on what came before it. And when it’s not relying on that, it’s busy expecting Nancy’s sartorial choice – of mostly no clothes – to carry what remains of the film.