Into the Deep (2025) – Film Review
Director: Christian Sesma
Cast: Scout Taylor-Compton, Jon Seda, Richard Dreyfuss
Certificate 15
By Roger Crow
Fifty years after Jaws scared the world silly, there’s been no let up in shark-centric thrillers, and this one not only features an anti-shark cage, like Steven Spielberg’s classic, but Richard Dreyfuss himself. Yes, the man who helped breathe life into one of the greatest thrillers of all time is now making every breath count in the twilight of his career. And there are plenty of breathless moments in this good looking saga which opens with the obligatory shock shark attack.
The plot: off the coast of Madagascar, a young father and his daughter, Cassidy, share a playful swim until a looming shark attack shatters their idyllic moment. Traumatised by the incident, Cassidy grows into adulthood plagued by fear, until her grandfather, Seamus, an oceanography professor, takes her under his wing to conquer her demons.
“Cash-hungry antagonists”
Years later, Cassidy, now married to Gregg, embarks on a dive expedition to Reunion Island, only to become entangled in a deadly situation involving modern-day pirates and a vengeful great white shark.
So yes, the plot is derivative, and in a way it owes as much to Lee Majors’ late-seventies thriller Killer Fish as it does to Jaws. Gold, plus lethal predators, plus cash-hungry antagonists equals thriller. Sadly Into the Deep also features a soft rock soundtrack of forgettable songs and some scenery-chewing bad guys, as well as terrible CG effects which look like they owe a debt to the equally terrible Jaws 3D.
Dreyfuss is as watchable as ever, though it’s impossible to watch him without thinking that someone ran one of those computer programmes to make people look older. The movie plays out exactly the way you think it will, and I never thought I’d say it but at least when you watch the atrocious Jaws The Revenge, there’s a brilliance to its badness. This just feels mediocre at best. Not that the cast and crew don’t do their best with the material, and there’s the odd nice shot, such as the heroine coming to terms with her demons in the third act and having a spiritual moment with that toothsome apex predator.
“Nostalgia factor”
And just when you think it’s all over, lovely Richard Dreyfuss pops up during the closing credits to give us a spiel about shark conservation, which is incredibly worthy, but seems a little odd considering the context.
If you’ve never seen Jaws, its three sequels, Deep Blue Sea, The Shallows, or any of the other dozens of Jaws clones then this might appeal. But once you get past the nostalgia factor with Dreyfuss and the anti-shark cage, then this is pretty tough going.
Do yourself a favour and turn the sound off, play John Williams’ Jaws score, and suddenly it’s so much better.
