Somehow Better Than The Sequel - 47 Meters Down Review

47 Meters Down is a survival horror film released on the 26th of July, 2017, in the UK. The film was written and directed by Johannes Roberts and also written by Ernest Riera. 47 Meters Down is a prequel to 47 Meters Down Uncaged, later released in 2019.

I’ve down a review of 47 Meters Down: Uncaged previously! It was my first-ever review on here!

Plot

The plot was average. It was a basic “how bad can it be?” film, where the answer is always it can be much worse, then gets worse.

Comparing this film to its sequel, 47 Meters Down executes its story much more effectively than 47 Meters Down: Uncaged. The story was kept simple and consistent. There was just enough information to explain who the characters were, their relationships and their reason for being in the location. Those simple pieces are explored more throughout the film, but just enough to add character and make them human.

Having said that, the film did make good use of the limited space. About 90% of the film takes place underwater inside a confined shark cage, so it is impressive that the story works better than its sequel. The sequel had more sets to play with but could have worked better; this one had fewer and worked better.

The jumpscares were a bit basic and predictable, but it was okay as the atmosphere made up for it.

Attraction

The attraction of this film is sharks and underwater survival, oh and the horror aspect!

It does live up to these expectations. There wasn’t an overuse of the sharks. However, seeing them a bit more would have been nice. As I’m not a shark expert, I don’t know how sharks typically act, but it would have been nice to see them appear and not attack a bit more. When the sharks were on screen, it was well done. Never staying too long as to get comfortable. Just enough to think “shit” and then leave again.

Cinematography

The cinematography was amazing. Some really stunning shots, especially the establishing shots from the boat ride. Gorgeous blue ocean for miles, truly stunning.

There was a good use of the wide, empty and dark space to convey how isolated and alone they were and how vulnerable they were. There comes a certain point in the ocean where you can no longer clearly see ahead of you, despite there being no obstructions. Those shots were terrifyingly breathtaking. The vast emptiness that holds a great white shark.

There is one scene in particular, near the end, that is just simply amazing. The timing, editing, acting, cinematography, everything comes together most beautifully and creates the most horrifying shot in the film. I love it.

Editing/Pacing

For the editing and pacing, it bounced along well. There was never a point were the film felt like it was being dragged along. It kept moving forward steadily.

There were parts of the film, one part that was a bit long. However, when you rewatch the film, it’s clear that its painstaking length is to make the viewer forget key information given just before. It becomes important to the story shortly after, but it has greater impact upon its reveal later on, especially since, just like the character, the audience forgets.

Did I enjoy it?

Yeah, I enjoyed 47 Meters Down. Enough that I could watch it twice. It was a good film and fit the concept well.

Conclusion | My Opinion

Overall, 47 Meters Down was a classic shark survival horror film. The cinematography was stunning, and mind games played to get the audience to forget information were well implemented, making even a second viewing interesting. Being able to go back and see just how filmmakers were able to manipulated my mind was amazing.