Into the Deep
Directed by Christian Sesma
Written by Chad Law and Josh Ridgway
Starring Callum McGowan, Scout Taylor Compton, & Richard Dreyfuss
Rated R
Runtime: 1 hour and 29 minutes
Available in Select Theaters, on Digital and On Demand on January 24

by Heidi Krull, Staff Writer

Of all the sub-horror genres that have hit screens in the last couple decades, the B-horror genre is one of my personal favorites. As a mostly unserious way of storytelling, B-horror is often attempted, yet rarely successful in being both entertaining and absolutely absurd. Into the Deep, directed by Christian Sesma, both revitalized my love for this genre and kept me laughing all the way through.

This film opens with a young Cassidy (Scout Taylor-Compton) as she recounts watching her father be killed by a shark while swimming. Though she still holds onto this trauma, she and her husband, Daemon (Stuart Townsend) decide to go on a touristy treasure hunt near the same area the attack happened. The day starts off well, but takes a turn for the worse when sharks begin swarming them. And, as if their situation couldn’t get worse, pirates board their boat and demand that they help them get their contraband out of the water. The plot seems busy, and it is, but this all makes for a unique viewing experience unlike any other.

From the jump, Into the Deep leaned into the corniness and campiness of classic B-horror shark films. I feel like this genre can easily suffer from boring, lackluster writing which can make the entire film less enjoyable. The writing in Into the Deep drove the plot forward (no matter how goofy it got) and kept my attention. What I thought was especially hilarious was the amount of tropes this film included, from horror classics and beyond. There were an absurd number of long, wistful shots of the main characters staring into the ocean with no dialogue and a moody 80s song playing in the background. There was also the “final girl” trope heavily present toward the end of the film, which draws directly from slashers of the past. Richard Dreyfuss, who was famously in the original shark horror film Jaws, was also a presence of import in this film. Dreyfuss’ mere presence probably drew in fans of that film and his performance brought the quality of this film way up. The way Into the Deep was able to create its own B-horror magic by drawing from tropey moments from past films was impressive to me, especially considering the failings of many films within this genre.

Although there are countless shark themed B-horror films, Into the Deep had multiple elements that made it stand out to me. The main element that I found especially amusing has to do with how the film treats the morality of the sharks. Usually, sharks in these films are ruthless, blood thirsty murder machines with no thoughts behind their eyes. This film took a different approach. Cassidy learned all about the ocean, namely sharks, through her grandfather, Seamus, played by Dreyfuss. She learned as a child that sharks can understand people if you give them a fair chance, and practiced communicating with them underwater for years. This different take on sharks was a relief to see and made the film feel fresh in comparison to others. Though it added more for the plot to focus on, I also thought the addition of the pirates was very clever. This momentarily diverts the viewer’s attention away from the sharks for just enough time for them to jump out of their seat when the next one appears. The pirate captain, Jordan (Jon Seda) was also an incredibly entertaining part of this film and his one-liners genuinely caught me off guard. Overall, I thought the unusual direction this film took was successful, and it certainly didn’t make me love it any less.

Films like Into the Deep aren’t always for everyone, and that is probably my biggest gripe with it. While I personally may enjoy the over-tropeyness and utter cheesiness, some may find those elements to be cringe worthy or trying too hard to be funny. This is not the type of horror film that makes you sleep with the light on, but rather is supposed to test the limits of ridiculousness until it eventually goes too far. Into the Deep will bring brightness to a bad day, just not in the way you may expect. 

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