Sharks have been painted in a strange light since Syfy’s Sharknado and the onslaught of b-movie, silly shark-centred action-horrors that have followed. Jaume Collet-Serra’s (House of Wax, Orphan) The Shallows has taken advantage of the obsession with this tongue-in-cheek direction and takes sharks back to where they belong; the watery depths, and brings back the fear that is traditionally associated with these creatures.
The Shallows stars Blake Lively as a lone surfer who finds herself stranded on a rock while a great white shark is circling. She is only 200 yards from the shore and safety, but it’s going to take all her will and skill to make it back there alive.
Check out the trailer below and see the horror that lurks beneath the beautiful waves. The cinematography is stunning and there is an overwhelming sense of dread built-up before a perfectly-timed break in the calm is delivered with a simple shot of the shark. If the film can deliver the tense and simple survival horror that this trailer teases, then The Shallows could bring seriously scary sharks back; and we’d love that to be the case.
We have an interview with The Shallows’ director Jaume Collett-Serra in the next issue of SCREAM, so be sure to pick that up. You can pre-order it right here. We ship worldwide, you know?
The Shallows will crash into cinemas on 29th July 2016.
Words: Jessy Williams (@JessyCritical)