UNDERWATER (2020) FILM REVIEW

***

15, 94 Mins

"Alien: Underwater" has few surprises, but this well-orchestrated B-movie is at its best when free of A-list pretensions.

It's remarkable really how many movies have riffed off 'Alien' (1979) to varying degrees of success since the classic "haunted house in space" horror burst out the multiplex's chest. Whether in 'Outland' (1981) or 'Pitch Black' (2000) or most recently 'Life' (2017), the notion that "in space no one can hear you scream" has truly stood the test of time. What's more interesting, however, is that 'Alien' was originally pitched by Ridley Scott to 20th Century Fox as "Jaws in space". A very apt pitch given the amount of similarities between Scott's film and Steven Spielberg's one.

Both 'Alien' and 'Jaws' (1975) are much more than monster movies. I certainly read their monsters as chilling metaphors for sexually motivated serial killers with 'Alien's Xenomorph a kind of twisted spin on a murderous hitch-hiker preying on those it's hitched a ride with while the shark of 'Jaws' has often been cited as an analogy for sexual desire. Now comes 'Underwater' (2020) which might aswell have been called "Alien: Underwater" and returns 'Alien's roots to the depths of the deep. It's fitting that the formula that began life as "Jaws in space" now has its feet below the sea again.

Needless to say, "Alien: Underwater" is a film of few surprises. What it does it achieves efficiently with a definite popcorn verve and that is being a competent, well-orchestrated B-movie. I'll admit to being a sucker for sea-based movies set above, on or beneath the surface, but William Eubank's film is actually pretty scary even if it relies mostly on jump scares. Watch out for one of the tentacled baby beasties thwacking into a sea-helmet for terror factor! Cattle prod shocks like this, however, are nicely judged and never overplayed. There's a clear if unsubtle attempt at creating a consistent atmosphere of dread. The suitably menacing production design, for example, has some of the cavernous beauty of H.R Giger's work on, yes, the 'ALIEN' movies. It equally imprints gloopy prosthetics onto the squidy, wraith-like creatures with an abundance of practical effects over CGI.

Hard to believe too, but 'Underwater' features a very strong central performance from Kristen Stewart. I've never been a Kristen Stewart fan. Like Shia LaBeouf, there's something very dislikeable about her with Stewart's lips doing most of the acting for her. She thankfully doesn't do any lip-biting here and it's pretty weird that - in the past 12 months - so many actors who I've generally disliked have turned out great acting. Think Shia LaBeouf in 'Honey Boy' (2019) and Adam Sandler in 'Uncut Gems' (2020). Stewart's work in this film is nowhere near in the same league as those aforementioned performances, but she makes a sturdy, women's liberating role model replete with shaved hair that channels Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley. 

One thing that the first two 'Alien' movies lacked - as brilliant as they were - was anything approaching a plot in the conventional sense. What there always was was some superbly composed set-pieces that made up for the absence of emotional punch, but no A to B mechanisms - a complete disregard of Todorov's Equilibrium, Disruption of Equilibirium and New Equilibrium. Ironically its when 'Underwater' dives deeper in search of a plot that it falters, fluctuates and risks drowning.

A late scene where Stewart communicates with the creatures telepathically through sub-Malickian voiceovers might float well in higher brow Sci-Fi fare like 'Arrival' (2016), but in a stripped-down, straightforward Friday night flick like this simply reeks of sentimental pretensions. 'Underwater' is rather better when playing to the pulp of its humans vs. monsters premise. When it does so, it's good fun.
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