47 METERS DOWN (2017, UK/USA/Dominican Republic, 89m, 15) **½
Adventure, Drama, Horror, Thriller
dist. Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures (USA), Entertainment One (UK); pr co. Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures / Dimension Films / Tea Shop Productions; d. Johannes Roberts; w. Johannes Roberts, Ernest Riera; pr. James Harris, Mark Lane; ph. Mark Silk (Colour | 2.35:1); m. tomandandy; ed. Martin Brinkler; pd. David Bryan; ad. Natalia Veloz Chapuseaux, María Fernanda Sabogal, Thomas Bryan.
cast: Mandy Moore (Lisa), Claire Holt (Kate), Chris Johnson (Javier), Yani Gellman (Louis), Santiago Segura (Benjamin), Matthew Modine (Captain Taylor), Mayra Juarez (Sammie (uncredited)), Axel Mansilla (Band Leader (uncredited)).
This overly familiar and occasionally suspenseful thriller sees young sisters Kate (Holt) and Lisa (Moore) and travel to Mexico for a vacation filled with sun, fun and adventure. Lisa needs some extra persuasion when Kate suggests that they go diving in shark-infested waters. Safe in their protective cage, the thrill-seeking siblings come face to face with a group of majestic great whites. Their worst fears soon become a reality when the cage breaks away from their boat, sending them plummeting to the ocean floor with a dwindling supply of oxygen. The ocean sequences are efficiently directed, but we get little time to get to know the characters to fully invest in their terror and the film’s ending is underwhelming. Extended version runs 97m. Followed by 47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED (2019).
