Into the Deep (2025) - Film Review

      Into the Deep, 2025.

      Directed by Christian Sesma.

      Starring Scout Taylor-Compton, Richard Dreyfuss, Stuart Townsend, Jon Seda, AnnaMaria Demara, Tom O’Connell, Callum McGowan, Lorena Sarria, Ron Smoorenburg, Tofan Pirani, Quinn P Hensley, and Maverick Kang Jr.

      SYNOPSIS:

      Contemporary pirates seeking sunken drugs abduct a group of tourists and compel them to dive into waters teeming with sharks to retrieve the illegal cargo.

      Director Christian Sesma's VOD-budget shark attack thriller, Into the Deep, offers little of quality. Let’s be clear about that. The closing credits hold more intrigue than the movie itself, featuring Richard Dreyfuss delivering a speech on shark conservation. The content of his speech—addressing the brutality of shark hunting for fins and the alarming rate of shark species extinction—is compelling and worthy of discussion. However, one must wonder what such a message is doing in a film that lacks any alignment with that theme.

      Into the Deep is as formulaic as they come, with sharks symbolizing childhood trauma and fear. Now an adult, Cassidy, played by Scout Taylor-Compton, is attempting to conquer her fear of the ocean by joining her boyfriend, Gregg (Callum McGowan), on a treasure-hunting expedition. Ironically, they venture into the very waters where her father was teaching her to swim before being “viciously” killed by a shark—a description that feels exaggerated since the film lacks anything graphic or intense, and the actors mostly appear to be struggling to stay afloat while faking a shark attack.

      Things quickly take a turn for the worse as pirates attack their vessel. The leader, Jordan (Jon Seda), portrayed as a mix of sociopathy and an 80s delinquent for comedic rather than frightening effect, and his crew take everyone captive. They demand that Cassidy, the smallest among them, uses a shark cage to dive to the ocean floor and retrieve several kilos of valuable drugs—adding a different kind of treasure to their haul.

      As Cassidy attempts this daring feat, there are flashbacks of her childhood, where her survivalist grandfather Seamus (a restless Richard Dreyfuss who struggles with delivering the dialogue) imparts crucial lessons to help her confront her fears. These flashbacks are visually off-putting, featuring unsaturated colors.

      Overall, the film is clichéd with questionably subpar performances, aside from a few strong moments from Scout Taylor-Compton. Whether it’s the director Christian Sesma or screenwriters Chad Law and Josh Ridgway, there seems to be a collective failure to create a storyline that aligns with the activism message found during the credits. An actor's appearance in the credits providing an activist speech in an unrelated film is not commendable; it makes Into the Deep feel superficial. This assessment doesn’t even touch on what could be considered special effects.

      Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★

      Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd.