Underwater was a movie I sort of stumbled on to. I haven’t heard much about it, but I saw the cast and decided to give it a try.

T.J. Miller provides comedic relief, Vincent Cassel is the badass french captain, Kristen Stewart is the, as Miller’s character puts it, “flat-chested elven creature,” and John Gallagher Jr. (12 Cloverfield Lane & Newsroom).

Miller’s humor is charming and works. Stewart is vulnerable and capable and brings an engaging androgynous sexuality with her buzzed haircut.

This film is essentially Gravity meets The Descent by way of The Abyss. The premise involves a group of drillers in the Mariana Trench struggling to survive after their facility mysteriously is destroyed.

The film gets to the point fast and mostly keeps up the pace. There are little pockets of character work and breathers between moments of tense scenes in the dark depths of the ocean.

There is environmental horror, original and creepy creatures, and an ending that maybe should have come a little quicker, but had an epic, impactful feel.

For something I hadn’t heard much about, for which I had no expectations, I was very pleasantly pleased with this film.