47 Meters Down

Ever since "Jaws" chomped its way through summer beachgoers, shark movies have become a movie genre all their own. While some missteps have occurred ("Jaws 4: The Revenge" anyone?), for the most part, shark movies are effective because they zero in on a universal primal fear: Getting eaten alive.

Director Johannes Roberts ("The Other Side of the Door") doesn't really rewrite the playbook with his new film "47 Meters down," but he still manages to make a nerve-shredding, hold-your-breath thriller that will give audiences the fun jolt of suspense they are looking for this summer.

Emmy nominee and former pop princess Mandy Moore ("This is Us") plays Lisa, a newly single gal who rarely goes outside of her comfort zone. What was supposed to be a fun trip to Mexico with her boyfriend has turned into a sisters-only excursion when said boyfriend dumps her. Sister Kate (Claire Holt, "The Vampire Diaries") is her free-spirited little sister who is always willing to take chances and go on adventures, and uses this opportunity to get Lisa to open up. Sadly, this means Lisa manipulates her sister into going on a sketchy boat ride that brings the girls out into shark-infested waters so they can get up close and personal with the seaborne predators while in a protective cage. What could go wrong, right?

At first, all seems well. Lisa's abundant nervousness begins to lessen when she is mesmerized by the fish and beauty of being underwater. She even gets a thrill from the sharks that lazily swim by. But unsurprisingly, the winch that holds the cage afloat breaks and the cage sinks forty-seven meters to the ocean floor. When the girls regain consciousness, they realize they are in deep trouble. They can't communicate with the captain of the ship (a wasted Matthew Modine), and have to find a way to regain that communication while avoiding whatever creatures lurk in the murky waters.

At this point, everything you expect to happen does. The girls have to leave the cage to talk to the captain. They get attacked by sharks. They run out of oxygen. None of this is new, yet Roberts still manages to milk the terror and suspense out of every situation, effectively giving audiences a thrilling summer romp that will satisfy.

Moore and Holt are good here as the terrified sisters, although they are saddled with a script by Roberts and co-writer Ernest Riera that is so on the nose it becomes laughable. "The shark almost got me!" "I was so scared. I thought you were dead." The girls consistently state the obvious, and at times it goes so overboard (pun intended) you find yourself tittering. This sometimes makes the actresses look like they haven't yet perfected their craft, but it can't be easy trying to act in a tank of water behind a clunky oxygen mask while saying things like, "You just have to breathe. In and out. In and out." (Oh, that's how you do it?)

Modine's dialogue is particularly spot-on to the point of silliness. ("If you come up too fast the nitrogen in your blood will give you the bends and you'll die." Noted.)

All of this said, you really can't fault the film for being exactly what it advertises itself to be. It's goofy, white-knuckle fun that'll have you gasping and holding your breath in equal measure. And in a summer of over-blown tentpole movies, it's a refreshing surprise even when none of it is that fresh.