Review of The Shallows (2016) by James D — 21 Nov 2016

Creature features, films that have always held a special place in my heart and for some reason I've always loved, no matter how cheesy some of them have become. I say some becaus this one does not fall into that category of cheese at all. This may possibly the smartest creature feature I've seen in a very long time. "The Shallows" delivers on all aspects of film making in its category, and a film I think most would find enjoyable.

The plot is as about straight forward as you can get, a young woman travels to a secluded beach in Mexico, where her Mother used to go to surf some of the best waves imaginable. All of that joy gets turned upside down though, when she is attacked by a shark and stranded on a rock with the tide rising, and the great white lurking. She now faces the challenge of somehow getting to shore without becoming a snack for the creature. That is all I will say, I'm never one to give away major spoilers to films, so if you want to know what happens you'll obviously have to watch for yourself.

I say that this is one of the smartest creature features I've seen because the film maker didn't resort to and rely on crazy CGI shark attacks, cool images, and a predictable plot to make this film successful. Creature features are a tough genre, no matter what everyone judges it because it not realistic enough, or the shark or crocodile or piranha look too fake, or way too big. No, this film did it right, and I think dare say the best shark film that is realistic enough since the first "Jaws" film. The shark is normal great white size, he doesn't look preposterously large or animated, it's terrifying actually to know that this is actually how big they are. The film relies on the intensity of the situation, and not only the shark stalking her, but the natural situation of the tide rising, the cold nights, and hypothermia as well as starvation and dehydration settling in.

Blake Lively, let's get to her. We haven't really seen her in a stand alone film as the lead when it comes to a film, and if we have, it was never like this at all. She holds her own, as she should, it's basically her the whole film. You feel her drive, anxiety, and determination to survive. Don't get me wrong, it's no Oscar winning performance, but in this genre, it blows most performances away. So, props to her on pulling off what I think is a difficult task.

Overall, it's a great film to sit back on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and just enjoy on a fans level. Don't criticize it like you do most creature features, for instance; "Lake Placid," "Pirannha," or anything like that, it's not that kind of film. It's believable, it's intense, and it almost makes you not want to go into the ocean again for a swim or surf. Almost. 4/5 JD.