***Spoilers Ahead***
While in the horror category on Netflix, this Blumhouse production is more of a suspense feature with a little mystery thrown in (I kept waiting for those meddling kids and great dane). It is a 2 act movie with a strong first half and sadly weakening during act 2.
The story centers on a the lead character washing ashore on an atoll. Jen, excellently played by Kiersey Clemons, immediately surveys her surroundings and quickly shifts into explorer / survival mode. It is a strong character that is refreshing and well played. The script is only 68 pages so dialog is scarce at the forefront but Clemons excels with what is given to her.
She discovers she is alone but not the first person there. Remnants of past travelers that perished on the island provide a plausible story that gives her limited survival gear. After setting up camp and attempting to signal a search & rescue plane, she sees a monster coming in from the ocean. It stalks her and unsuccessfully attacks her. Despite its strength and speed, it only throws her around as if it is trying to restrain her, not cause her harm. This become significant as Jen continually fights the creature, it seems to either protect her or simply want to keep her on the island.
Act 2 introduces two other survivors (Emory Cohen who not only brings nothing to the movie but his wooden performance creates an unnecessary distraction) that does little to add any depth to the story. After the creatures kills one, Clemons and Cohen head out on a raft, only to be stopped by it again. In the ensuing battle, Cohen is killed which elicited a few cheers from the group of friends that came over to watch the movie. Clemons' swims to shore, goes into battle mode, and is successful at defeating the creature.
If you shift your viewpoint just a bit, it never looked like the creature was trying to hurt her. It killed several people (and sharks) easily but, at best, she was just banged up. At one point the creature is trying to swim with her down to his ocean hole-in-the-ground and you are half expecting it to be some sort of spaceship and discover he is marooned as well. Instead of defeating the creature at the end, a much better storyline was her coming to understand that he was lonely and protecting her, leaving the two of them on the beach of an atoll that neither will likely ever be rescued from.
The movie started with a lot of promise but came up short in the end due to Cohen's poor acting as it certainly hurt the believability of the story. (He should have been recast earlier during principal photography.) Still, it is watchable and good to have a minority lead in a movie that shows strength, intelligence, and resourcefulness.
While in the horror category on Netflix, this Blumhouse production is more of a suspense feature with a little mystery thrown in (I kept waiting for those meddling kids and great dane). It is a 2 act movie with a strong first half and sadly weakening during act 2.
The story centers on a the lead character washing ashore on an atoll. Jen, excellently played by Kiersey Clemons, immediately surveys her surroundings and quickly shifts into explorer / survival mode. It is a strong character that is refreshing and well played. The script is only 68 pages so dialog is scarce at the forefront but Clemons excels with what is given to her.
She discovers she is alone but not the first person there. Remnants of past travelers that perished on the island provide a plausible story that gives her limited survival gear. After setting up camp and attempting to signal a search & rescue plane, she sees a monster coming in from the ocean. It stalks her and unsuccessfully attacks her. Despite its strength and speed, it only throws her around as if it is trying to restrain her, not cause her harm. This become significant as Jen continually fights the creature, it seems to either protect her or simply want to keep her on the island.
Act 2 introduces two other survivors (Emory Cohen who not only brings nothing to the movie but his wooden performance creates an unnecessary distraction) that does little to add any depth to the story. After the creatures kills one, Clemons and Cohen head out on a raft, only to be stopped by it again. In the ensuing battle, Cohen is killed which elicited a few cheers from the group of friends that came over to watch the movie. Clemons' swims to shore, goes into battle mode, and is successful at defeating the creature.
If you shift your viewpoint just a bit, it never looked like the creature was trying to hurt her. It killed several people (and sharks) easily but, at best, she was just banged up. At one point the creature is trying to swim with her down to his ocean hole-in-the-ground and you are half expecting it to be some sort of spaceship and discover he is marooned as well. Instead of defeating the creature at the end, a much better storyline was her coming to understand that he was lonely and protecting her, leaving the two of them on the beach of an atoll that neither will likely ever be rescued from.
The movie started with a lot of promise but came up short in the end due to Cohen's poor acting as it certainly hurt the believability of the story. (He should have been recast earlier during principal photography.) Still, it is watchable and good to have a minority lead in a movie that shows strength, intelligence, and resourcefulness.