The Shallows (2016)

[Khev]

I would not call it terrible. The last 10 min comes close to terrible though

1st 30 to 40 min is great stuff. Next 30 is OK and good enough. Had the ending been great this could have been an all timer for me. It was good enough for me to purchase in the future because it still is one of the better Shark Films. But It's not as good as The Reef, Open Water, and of course JAWS (was not expecting it to be). I liked JAWS 2 more also So I guess that makes it the 5th best shark movie ever

The whole movie was solid but the ending is what will have me purchasing the blu-ray! Open Water is "better" yes but it's a little too "real life" and depressing to watch over and over (and yes I realize that was the whole point of it.) I don't put The Shallows in that category, to me it's more like 10 Cloverfield Lane where the majority of the film is grounded in realistic peril but then the heroine organically becomes this bigger kind of cinematic hero. As I said in my review if you rate it only as a "woman vs. nature" film then yes it fails. But as a "woman vs. monster" movie with a very grounded build up it was absolutely thrilling IMO.

Not just any great white but the smartest Great white ever.. Bruce had nothing on this Serial Killer mentality this shark possessed. Apparently it's very territorial about it's huge food source. So much so that it ignores the giant food source

Now now, it might have been more obsessively territorial than the first Bruce but it had nothing on the sharks from Jaws The Revenge or Deep Blue Sea.

That being said I knew that the ending would be a polarizing aspect of this movie just like it was for The Witch and 10 Cloverfield Lane.

 

[Khev]

Not a great movie but I would watch it again when it shows up on cable/satellite. Final scene was original, but the two scenes I enjoyed seeing the most were:

Spoiler:

When she gets bitten and dragged under water, the entire screen slowly and eventually fills with red from her blood.

Spoiler:

When the 2 surfer guys attempt to save her, the guy that heads back to shore and the shark breaches to kill him. Awesome!

Well, there's also gratuitous shots of Blake Lively in a bikini.

Yes when I heard it was going to be mostly a CG shark my expectations sank (no pun intended) but I literally jumped at the second scene you mentioned as did half the audience. Most realistic

Spoiler:

breach

ever seen on screen IMO.

And with regard to the other bit yeah

Spoiler:

When she got hit and all the water slowly turned red I thought "that's got to be from the dying whale right? Right????" Then when I realized it was her it was "aw *****k." And I think that was her reaction too!

 

[kryptonianmutie]

I was really annoyed with Open Water and wanted the sharks to eat the couple quickly just to end the movie. I hope The Shallows is nothing like that.

 

[Khev]

I was really annoyed with Open Water and wanted the sharks to eat the couple quickly just to end the movie. I hope The Shallows is nothing like that.

It definitely isn't, for better or worse. I saw Open Water in the theater and then once in the 12 years since. I can see myself watching The Shallows pretty regularly.

 

[JAWS]

It definitely isn't, for better or worse. I saw Open Water in the theater and then once in the 12 years since. I can see myself watching The Shallows pretty regularly.

Khev have you seen the movie I mentioned earlier called The Reef?

That film had me on edge and made me jump once or twice.

 

[Khev]

Khev have you seen the movie I mentioned earlier called The Reef?

I did and it did not scare me at ALL.

Spoiler:

That film had me on edge and made me jump once or twice.

Okay then, in all seriousness I'll see if I can stream it tonight.

Oh and never watch Shark Night. Probably the worst shark movie I've seen by far.

 

[JAWS]

The whole movie was solid but the ending is what will have me purchasing the blu-ray! Open Water is "better" yes but it's a little too "real life" and depressing to watch over and over (and yes I realize that was the whole point of it.) I don't put The Shallows in that category, to me it's more like 10 Cloverfield Lane where the majority of the film is grounded in realistic peril but then the heroine organically becomes this bigger kind of cinematic hero. As I said in my review if you rate it only as a "woman vs. nature" film then yes it fails. But as a "woman vs. monster" movie with a very grounded build up it was absolutely thrilling IMO.



Now now, it might have been more obsessively territorial than the first Bruce but it had nothing on the sharks from Jaws The Revenge or Deep Blue Sea.

That being said I knew that the ending would be a polarizing aspect of this movie just like it was for The Witch and 10 Cloverfield Lane.

Well that was my issue... The first part of the film kept it pretty realistic which I loved. Then it went a bit too far. I think had the shark not looked so much like a real great white and yet act nothing like a real great white in the last 20 min, I could have enjoyed it more. I think that is why Bruce gets away with some of his actions in JAWS... On the other hand sharks have been known to attack cages, boats, breach and fall into or on boats... But I can't think of any that have chased boats either way JAWS gets away with all of it due to perfect film making.

The Shallows was still fun overall and a decent thriller... It just lost me in the last ten min...

Spoiler:

The Sharks demise made me role my eyes and giggle.

The change up from serious thriller to a really well made sci fi channel movie was too jarring for me. Perhaps with a second viewing and knowing where the film is going I will be ready for it and enjoy it more.

 

[Khev]

The change up from serious thriller to a really well made sci fi channel movie was too jarring for me. Perhaps with a second viewing and knowing where the film is going I will be ready for it and enjoy it more.

Ouch.

 

[JAWS]

I did and it did not scare me at ALL.

Spoiler:

Okay then, in all seriousness I'll see if I can stream it tonight.

Oh and never watch Shark Night. Probably the worst shark movie I've seen by far.

Too late about Shark Night... Saw that one in the theaters.... Was hoping for a Piranha 3D experience but got stuck with something that had no business getting a theatrical release.

 

[JAWS]

Ouch.

OK that might have been a bit harsh... But I did say "really well made Sci Fi channel movie"

 

[Khev]

Shark Night wasn't theatrical release worthy, wasn't Sci-Fi Channel worthy, wasn't even USA Up All Night worthy. One of the worst shark/monster/anything movies I've seen this decade. I don't know how you make the simple premise of sharks eating people boring but the director found a way.

 

[jye4ever]

I would not call it terrible. The last 10 min comes close to terrible though

1st 30 to 40 min is great stuff. Next 30 is OK and good enough. Had the ending been great this could have been an all timer for me. It was good enough for me to purchase in the future because it still is one of the better Shark Films. But It's not as good as The Reef, Open Water, and of course JAWS (was not expecting it to be). I liked JAWS 2 more also So I guess that makes it the 5th best shark movie ever



Not just any great white but the smartest Great white ever.. Bruce had nothing on this Serial Killer mentality this shark possessed. Apparently it's very territorial about it's huge food source. So much so that it ignores the giant food source

 

[Khev]

One of the things I really liked about The Shallows was that I absolutely had no idea where it was going. I didn't know if she was going to survive,

Spoiler:

the bit about knowing that the kid found the seemingly "old" shark footage from the helmet and her broken surfboard in the film's prologue suggested she wouldn't,

I didn't know how she was going to get off the island, if the shark would die, how she'd

Spoiler:

make it to the buoy, who'd rescue her, etc.

I thought it did a really good job of seemingly presenting insurmountable situations and then having clever ways for her to live from one scene to the next.

 

[JAWS]

I did and it did not scare me at ALL.

Spoiler:

Okay then, in all seriousness I'll see if I can stream it tonight.

Oh yeah... You actually fooled me when you said you saw The Reef and did not think it was scary at all... I was wondering who was going to pull that movie out as a rebuttal to my suggestion

Let me know how you like it. IMO the whole film was more like the first 1/2 hour of the Shallows.

Shark Night wasn't theatrical release worthy, wasn't Sci-Fi Channel worthy, wasn't even USA Up All Night worthy. One of the worst shark/monster/anything movies I've seen this decade. I don't know how you make the simple premise of sharks eating people boring but the director found a way.

No kidding right. Just an awful movie. No fun to be had. Not even a so bad it's good kind of fun

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[Khev]

JAWS did you see the movie that I believe is set in Australia where a storm causes a tsunami that has sharks hunting people trapped in a convenience store?

I can't remember the name but I'm guessing it would give Shark Night a run for its money.

 

[JAWS]

One of the things I really liked about The Shallows was that I absolutely had no idea where it was going. I didn't know if she was going to survive,

Spoiler:

the bit about knowing that the kid found the seemingly "old" shark footage from the helmet and her broken surfboard in the film's prologue suggested she wouldn't,

I didn't know how she was going to get off the island, if the shark would die, how she'd

Spoiler:

make it to the buoy, who'd rescue her, etc.

I thought it did a really good job of seemingly presenting insurmountable situations and then having clever ways for her to live from one scene to the next.

I think seeing the trailers ruined some of that for me. I knew what the Go Pro camera was from... I also saw the great breach scene in one of the trailers. Personally I never worried if

Spoiler:

She would make it in the end. I always assumed she would... However I thought she should have at least lost that leg. I was happy she survived. though. I may have liked the movie more if she didn't

Like I said I may be being a tad hard on it. I was pretty pumped by the trailer and Rotten Tomatoes for the first few hours had it at 95%... Of course that dropped but I was still pumped for it. IMO it did not have to take the turn it did. It could have been just as exciting and fun had they kept the film grounded in a bit more reality. IMO it's not really like Cloverfield Lane because that really took a sharp left turn for a reason... this one did not need too and I don't believe that was the film makers intent. I don't think they said "hey lets make the audience think it's one kind of film all the way through and then twist it at the end and have it be another kind of film... I think they were just trying to make a successful thriller... It worked for you. For me and my wife, not so much.

But it was beautifully shot and had some stand out moments. You could do much worse. I would give it a 6 out of 10... the ending for me brought it down a whole 2 points and thus the ending has left me with some bad feeling towards the film... But like I said I may like it more and enjoy the over the top stuff with a second viewing.

 

[JAWS]

JAWS did you see the movie that I believe is set in Australia where a storm causes a tsunami that has sharks hunting people trapped in a convenience store?

I can't remember the name but I'm guessing it would give Shark Night a run for its money.

It was called "Bait" and it was actually way better then Shark Night. Of course that is not saying much. Actually it was not that bad... I mean all things considered.

It had a really bad CGI shark but the mechanical shark was not too bad if memory serves.

 

[Khev]

I think seeing the trailers ruined some of that for me. I knew what the Go Pro camera was from... I also saw the great breach scene in one of the trailers.

LAME!!!!! I can't believe that was given away in a trailer. That sucks. Glad I didn't see that because like I said it was one of the biggest jump scares in the entire film. It was one of those "everyone in the audience jumps then cracks up at the fact that they jumped" moments.

Did you say that you were also let down by The Witch because the trailers oversold it/gave too much away?

IMO it's not really like Cloverfield Lane because that really took a sharp left turn for a reason... this one did not need too and I don't believe that was the film makers intent. I don't think they said "hey lets make the audience think it's one kind of film all the way through and then twist it at the end and have it be another kind of film... I think they were just trying to make a successful thriller... It worked for you. For me and my wife, not so much.

I compared it to 10 Cloverfield Lane because I remember people also complaining that that film didn't need to take the turn at the end either. *I* liked it, just like I did with The Shallows, but I know others were put off by it (like yourself in this case.) I'd be curious to see a version of both Cloverfield Lane and The Shallows that didn't take "the turn" just to see how they'd each play out the other way.

Obviously that wouldn't work for any film, if Open Water ended the way The Shallows did that would have been terrible. But for whatever reason I liked it in this one.

 

[JAWS]

LAME!!!!! I can't believe that was given away in a trailer. That sucks. Glad I didn't see that because like I said it was one of the biggest jump scares in the entire film. It was one of those "everyone in the audience jumps then cracks up at the fact that they jumped" moments.

Did you say that you were also let down by The Witch because the trailers oversold it/gave too much away?

It was the Quotes in The Witch trailer that had me really pumped "like watching something you shouldn't" etc... The trailer as a whole is pretty great also. However unlike The Shallows that film got better in my memory with the passage of time

Yeah.. That money shot in the Shallows was a bummer. Would like to not have seen that coming.

 

[JAWS]

In all it's glory

Spoiler: