'The Shallows' - a shark horror film that surprised the summer of 2016

The $17 million film captivates audiences from beginning to end about a beauty's battle against a bloodthirsty shark.

In 1975, the film Jaws was a huge success thanks to the creative exploitation of director Steven Spielberg, opening up a new and attractive topic for filmmakers. It was the story of the sudden attacks of the "sea monster" aimed at humans.After that, many cinema works learnedJaws-Placing the main character in a desolate and hopeless situation increases the suspense for the viewer.However, not many films are successful.

So, the debut ofThe ShallowsAt first, it did not bring much expectation. However, what this 17 million USD film showed in 87 minutes was a big surprise for the audience.

The film begins simply and neatly. Nancy - a medical student who is having a crisis about her future path decides to go to a deserted beach in Mexico, where her mother used to surf when she was pregnant with her. The beautiful nature and the strong waves give Nancy an interesting experience. The audience is somewhat "full of eyes" with the wild and charming beauty of the sea through the high angles in this film.

As the sky darkened and the two surfers left, Nancy stayed to catch the last wave. She soon paid the price for her mistake. The carcass of a whale floating near where she was surfing was the first sign of trouble. Before she could react, Nancy was attacked by a ferocious great white shark. Luckily, she crawled onto a small rock nearby and treated the deep bite on her leg. From that moment on, the young girl entered a fierce and lonely battle on the ocean.

Poster "The Shallows".

To create tension and suspense, Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra uses a variety of techniques to create dramatic details in small drops rather than continuous surprise attacks. The camera angle changes flexibly, from a panoramic view from above with the image of Nancy alone and with no way out, to a low-lying underwater view of the sea monster lurking for a delicious stranded prey.

The rock Nancy was living on was only a few hundred meters from shore, but she could not swim to it. Any glimmer of hope that appeared was extinguished by Nancy's desperate cry for help in the middle of the ocean.

After more than a day and a night struggling in the middle of the sea with her leg gradually becoming necrotic, Nancy began to gamble with her fate, using her mind and the little strength she had left to calculate the possibilities of survival. The film's pace also gradually accelerated and dramatic situations appeared more frequently towards the end.

Blake Lively makes an impressive comeback.

Every detail in the script is realistic, highlighting the main character's tenacity. A typical example is the scene when she climbs up the buoy anchored in the middle of the sea, takes out a flare gun to call for help from afar but the gun is useless because it is too old. Viewers are drawn into the battle for survival in the last 15 minutes. The point of view flips back and forth continuously, from above looking down, from below looking up, inside the rocky seabed and wriggling between glowing jellyfish.

Nancy's victory over the "sea god" comes from her own efforts, not from luck. That is the message the film conveys to the audience: "Save yourself" instead of relying on luck or survival instinct. In the "life-threatening" situation, Nancy did not selfishly think about her own life. She constantly signaled to the people on the shore not to jump into the sea and become shark bait. When preparing to escape, she did not forget to save the seagull with a dislocated wing that was stranded on the rock with her.

The movie has many scary shots.

The only main actress in the film is Blake Lively. She is a wise choice for The Shallows. Not only does she have a hot body in a bikini from the beginning to the end of the film, the wife of "Deadpool" Ryan Reynolds also left her mark with her acting efforts. The scenes of inner despair and the scenes of struggling to escape the scythe of death were all performed perfectly by her.

The Shallows ((Death Waters)in Vietnamese theaters from August 5.

According to VNE