By Dr. Zaius
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Tuesday, September 26th, 2017 at 12:00 pm
47 Meters Down Blu-ray | DVD | Digital
Directed by Johannes Roberts
Written by Johannes Roberts, Ernest Riera
Starring Mandy Moore, Claire Holt, Matthew Modine, Chris Johnson, Yani Gellman, Santiago Segura Lionsgate
PG-13 | 89 minutes
Release date: September 26, 2017
47 Meters Down is a shark movie starring Mandy Moore (This is Us) and Claire Holt (The Originals) as sisters on vacation in Mexico, who decide to go cage diving with Great Whites. That turns out to be a bad decision as their cage plummets to the titular depth, and soon the women are fighting for survival from both the sharks above and the impending loss of oxygen. I’ll be honest, this movie had me at “shark.” I am an unabashed shark movie enthusiast. Spielberg’s JAWS is one of my favorite films ever, and I started writing for Geeks of Doom by covering the Sharknado franchise. So suffice to say, if you put sharks in a movie, I’ll be there to watch it. Unfortunately, sharks are about the only thing 47 Meters Down has going for it.
Out on Blu-ray/DVD and Digital HD this week, the film is best once the girls get in the water, which thankfully isn’t too long into the 89 minute runtime. Mandy Moore’s Lisa is a terribly pathetic character. Her whole Mexican adventure is in response to being dumped by her boyfriend, “the only good thing in my life,” because she wasn’t fun enough. They go out, get some drinks, meet some guys, and plan their shark adventure for the sole purpose of convincing unseen boyfriend to take her back. I wouldn’t normally harp on this point, because let’s face it, get in the water with the sharks already. But this film comes off the fins of last year’s incredible Blake Lively vehicle, The Shallows; a shark movie with an intelligent lead female battling a Great White. By the time Moore and Holt are in the cage, I for one was rooting for the sharks. The sharks, by the way, are CGI and look decent up close but again, not “Shallows good.”
The film is unique in that after the 15-20 minute mark, the actresses are nearly all alone and underwater. Kudos to Moore and Holt for going through the rigors of that shooting, and in idea alone, it’s an ambitious and original concept from writer/director Johannes Roberts. The Blu-ray features a 10-minute featurette on the making of the film, and it just may be more interesting, showing them shooting in giant pools and gorgeous beach locations. Neither actress had any dive or SCUBA training so that made it harder, but they learned fast and pulled it off. The movie looks great in 1080p High Def, and if you’re a diehard shark movie person, this may be one for the collection. This feels more like a movie I’d watch on SYFY late at night when I can’t sleep.
47 Meters Down is out on Blu-Ray/DVD and Digital HD this week.
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Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press
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