Fear Below (2025)

Fear Below (2025)

I read this review: “A must-see!

I’m pleasantly surprised by this film: a good story, good actors, and even though the shark plays almost a supporting role here, for me it’s one of the best shark films released in recent months (or years?).”

Yes, it’s a good film. But it’s a bit too brutal to be fully enjoyed by someone like me. It’s intense, dramatic, gripping, intriguing. That said, it’s true that it isn’t a shark film where you see much of the beast, if at all. There are criminals, though… and they’re truly loathsome and despicable. The film wasn’t well received.

Every year, there’s at least one B-movie like Sharknado and a more serious film featuring sharks. It’s almost become a mandatory tradition!

I won’t deny that this feature film still put me under pressure, under stress. Indeed, it takes place in murky waters. As a result, you can’t see two metres ahead, which means the shark could really appear at any moment, right next to the protagonists. I think I’d have a heart attack very easily if I had to dive in there. I wouldn’t last long.

Here’s the story:

Australia in the 1940s: a team of professional divers is hired to locate and recover a car that has sunk in a river. From the very first dive, the team realises they are not alone in the river: an extremely aggressive bull shark is lurking in the waters. When they also discover they are working for unscrupulous criminals who are only out to recover their stolen gold bars, the dives become a real ordeal, and not just beneath the surface of the water.

As always, the posters don’t reflect what’s actually in the film, unfortunately.

An Australian film that tries to stand out with a rather original idea, an unusual concept: setting the action in the 1940s and replacing the ocean with a lake.

Here’s a negative review: “On paper, why not. But once that initial curiosity has passed, there’s unfortunately not much else to sink your teeth into. The shark is as murky as the water it swims in, rarely visible and never truly menacing. The story is uninteresting, lacking in tension or stakes, and struggles to captivate from start to finish. The film never manages to create the slightest bit of suspense. A flat and forgettable piece of entertainment. In short, give it a miss!”

That’s not really what I think. If you ignore the poster and the title, this little thriller is quite surprising for its genre, and the reviews seem very harsh. The setting and time period are original, the plot is a bit different from what we’re used to, and ultimately it’s not so much a shark film as a thriller/crime drama that breaks the mould. The underwater scenes are quite gripping, and the tension doesn’t always come from the nasty beast. The actors aren’t bad, and the special effects are fairly decent. There are, of course, a few far-fetched scenes, but overall Fear Below goes down rather well and raises the bar a little for ‘shark films’ in general.

What saves Fear Below is probably its aesthetic: I really liked the film’s overall atmosphere, whether it was the sets, the wilderness or even the period, which is quite well recreated. Visually, you really feel immersed, and it gives the story real character. On the other hand, as soon as you dig a little deeper, you realise the film isn’t very profound. The basic idea remains very simple, perhaps even a bit too basic, and the script never really tries to go beyond its initial concept… which is already quite stressful, I’ll grant you that. It’s a nice film to watch for its style and immersive quality, but it probably won’t leave a lasting impression once the credits have rolled.

Will everything turn out all right for the survivor(s)? Is it really possible to rebuild your life after such traumatic experiences?

Well worth a watch!