Movie review: 47 Meters Down

When I was 10 years old and holidaying on the Gold Coast, I watched Jaws for the first time and didn't go near the beach for rest of the trip. Some decades later, I feel much the same after watching 47 Meters Down.

This cheap and cheerful shark thriller tells the story of sisters Lisa (Mandy Moore) and Kate (Claire Holt), who decide to live a little when holidaying in Mexico and go diving with great whites. A couple of local lads set the girls up with Captain Taylor (Matthew Modine) and, while one look at his dodgy boat and rusty diving cage would have sent most straight back to the pool bar, the girls head out to sea.

Lisa, the more serious and responsible of the sisters, is apprehensive but, encouraged by adventure-loving Kate, she gets in the cage to make her ex-boyfriend jealous. Lisa should have followed her instincts; as the cage is being hauled up, the winch fails and the girls plummet 47 metres to the bottom of the ocean.

While the set-up is believable - just - what unfolds underwater is definitely a stretch. But then, 47 Meters Down isn't trying to replicate real life such as in Open Water; instead it has fun playing on our fears of being mauled by sharks, drowning, or being left to die at sea.

Despite the girl's poor decisions and their contrived bad luck, 47 Meters Down manages moments of terror. The great whites keep their appearances to a minimum, and when they grace us with their presence it's as quick and horrific as you could imagine. The climax has you on the edge of your seat, although director Johannes Roberts obviously thought a final story twist was needed - it wasn't.

If this sounds like a rip-off of last year's The Shallows, it isn't; 47 Meters Down was completed before The Shallows was released. While comparatively not quite as good, if watching 20-foot great white sharks stalk young women is your thing, then here you have it.

Director:

Claire Holt, Mandy Moore, Matthew Modine

Rating:

M (Horror scenes)

Running time:

89 mins

Verdict:

Could ruin your mid-winter tropical holiday.

DID YOU KNOW...
Producers added finely chopped broccoli to the water when filming 47 Meters Down to replicate underwater organisms. Star Mandy Moore compared the experience to filming in soup.