47 Metres Down   Starring: Claire Holt, Mandy Moore, Chris J. Johnson, Yani Gellman, Santiago A. Segura and Matthew Modine Distributor: Entertainment One RRP: £TBC EO52112 Certificate: 15 Release Date: 27 November 2017

Whilst on holiday in Mexico, sisters Kate and Lisa decide to go on a cage diving expedition to see great white sharks. While being lowered their cable breaks plunging them and their cage to the bottom of the sea. With their oxygen running out Kate and Lisa must work together to survive...

47 Metres Down (2017. 1 hr, 25 min, 29 sec) is a survival horror movie directed by Johannes Roberts who co-wrote the script with Ernest Riera. The film stars Mandy Moore (Lisa) and Claire Holt (Kate). Although a modest movie, costing only five and a half million, the film went on to takes more than forty-three million, ensuring that a sequel will no doubt be on the cards.

In what is literally two women in a cage the movie very much relies on the skill of the two main actors. As such, the two do much with a plot which, while it had its jump scares, was too timid to push the horror aspect.

The two sisters decide on the dive even after seeing the ropy state of the boat, after all what could go wrong? Thankfully the film does not make either of the heroines stupid and, in fact, when they think that the cage dive has become unsafe they ask to be brought up.

When the cable breaks and the cage holding the girls crashes to the sea bed, they are often portrayed as bravely resourceful. The inclusion of the sharks creates both the continual threat to the girls but also provides a reason why they cannot just swim to the surface. As their situation deteriorates the girls continue to fight for their survival and I did find myself caring what happened to them.

Given that the whole thing was filmed in a tank, the director has done well to give the audience a real sensation of being at the bottom of the ocean. I was concerned about the sharks, but CGI has progressed to such an extent that when they arrived they looked like the real thing.

The DVD does come with a few extras. There are three interviews, unfortunately the two with Mandy Moore (10 min, 06 sec) and Claire Holt (5 min, 04 sec) lack any real depth other than to display their enthusiasm for the project. The interview with the director (2 min, 04 sec) is short but does contain a massive spoiler for the film, so watch this last.

Overall, it was effective for what it aimed to do, but personally I thought that it come over tamer than it could have been.

6

Charles Packer