Something In The Water (2024)

Dir. Hayley Easton Street

⭐⭐

What should be a celebration of love and friendship turns into a cliche-riddled fight for survival as bride-to-be Lizzie and her four best friends end up in shark-infested waters in Hayley Easton Street's debut feature film Something In The Water.

Shark films have had somewhat of a renaissance in popularity in recent times, with titles such as The Shallows and The Meg entertaining audiences, however sadly Something In The Water drowns more in the category of the insufferable at times like its peers 47 Meters Down or Fall when you're cheering for their demise rather than their survival.

The film starts by loosely introducing us to our cast of thinly layered characters and as the audience we quickly feel an instant disconnect from them thanks to a lack of sincerity and unrealistic dialogue. Once the crew embarks on their doomed expedition, it quickly ticks all the boxes of what you expect from a shark flick leaving nothing particularly new or noteworthy to remember. The shark itself is left ambiguous in size with most of the screentime being a fin poking out of the water which adds a little tension to the film before the bickering and flashbacks between our all-female team quickly dissipates that.

Although Something In The Water is at its core a stereotypical shark thriller, that is not to say it's a complete flop. The directing is sufficient proving that Street could helm a better-written film in the future and create something notable, and the beautiful location and large open water holds the thread of tension together and the all-female cast is a great thing to see, however, I can't help but feel that there was wasted potential for a truly unique take on a tried and tested formula that was quickly devoured by a weak script.

SOMETHING IN THE WATER is available now to buy and rent from digital platforms and available to own on Blu-ray & DVD from 9th September