Film Review: 47 Meters Down

Many people have a fear of being murdered, and think that this is perfectly reasonable, even though for Americans, the chance of being murdered is approximately 1 in 21,000. Meanwhile, the chances of your home burning down because of a squirrel are 1 in 3,000. Yes, you are seven times more likely to be the victim of squirrel arsonists than be murdered by another human, and yet which gets top billing on the news every night?

This, my friends, is the difference between the fear of something versus the reality, and cinema has a bad case of unsubstantiated fear of sharks. In 2016, there were only four fatal shark attacks worldwide, yet since 2010 there have been 14 films about the demonised creatures, and now we have another in 47 Meters Down.

In fairness, writer/director Johannes Roberts has a unique premise. Sisters Lisa (Mandy Moore) and Katie (Claire Holt) are holidaying in Mexico when they agree to go cage-diving five meters down in the ocean, to view the great whites up close. But when the cage’s cable snaps and the sisters plummet 47 metres underwater, they have to decide; do they wait for help, watching their oxygen run out? Or do they try to slowly swim up 15 storeys worth of shark-infested water, taking breaks to ensure they don’t get a fatal case of the bends?

Not breaking surface once the cable snaps, Roberts plays with darting cameras and POV shots to capture the sisters’ unique terror. However, the characterisations are paper-thin, and for people trying to preserve their oxygen, the women engage in a lot of inane chatter via radios in their breathing masks.

Now, where’s my film about squirrels, those twisted fire-starters?

3/5