Fear Below

This is a bad shark movie, so I went in expecting it to be poorly acted, with a really dumb story, and for it to be cheap looking. But much to my surprise this has decent acting, an okay story, and it doesn't look too cheap. But the most important part is the sharks, and in this genre I feel it is very important that the atmosphere should either be scary or goofy. This is neither, your grandma wouldn't be scared and the effects and kills barely register. Meanwhile the characters are nothings and the story is blah.

This completely washed over me without leaving the faintest trace of an impact. I had already forgotten 95% just mere hours later. The worst kind of crappy shark movie: a non-entity.

First things first, it's a quite enjoyable experience. Shot without long and boring scenes, not much hesitations and conflicting feelings. Well-packed pace and three-acted story. Expected, but still worthy end of the story.

Well, it somehow reminds me of 2000-s era action/adventure flicks: not much dramatic insights, but still delivered joy. That can be an advantage and disadvantage at the same time. You won't get deep characters, there's no sophisticated story: just a beginning-climax- resolution. I wanted to like characters, but they were... mildly blank? I don't really think, there will be a reason to re-watch it in the future. But still it's worth watching, when you just want some adventure fun for your Friday evening.

I connected with this movie surprisingly fast, even though I'm usually not into diving or underwater-themed films. It kept me engaged the whole time, and I genuinely had a great experience watching it. Clara stood out for me-she's a real fighter and quickly sensed something was off, which added a lot to the tension. The atmosphere, combined with the lurking danger, created some intense and memorable moments without overdoing it. Overall, it's a film worth watching, and I'm glad I gave it a chance. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys suspense with a sharp edge!

Fear Below" dives deep, but not in a good way. This cinematic misadventure struggles with weak direction from the get-go, betraying a clearly poor budget that haunts every frame. There are zero surprises in this predictable plot, making it a tedious watch. You barely even see the shark, which for a shark movie, is an unforgivable sin. When it does deign to appear, its size seems to fluctuate wildly - one moment it's a giant, the next it's a small, idiotic fish, completely undermining any sense of threat.

The film is riddled with stupid and flimsy solutions to its poorly constructed dilemmas, and the acting is uniformly poor. Not once do you feel any genuine emotion from the characters - no pain, no danger, no sorrow, no urgency. They're just cardboard cutouts moving through a bland, uninspired script. The villains are caricatured and unconvincing, adding another layer to the film's many failings.

Adding insult to injury, the camera work is a choppy mess, constantly employing fast cuts and hiding the action, as if ashamed of what it's trying to show. This isn't suspense; it's an attempt to mask the film's glaring inadequacies. Honestly, "Fear Below" is one of the worst films I've ever seen.

Needless to say that of course I had to watch the 2025 movie "Fear Below", as there is just something very alluring to me about shark movies. Sure, a great number of the shark movies out there are questionable affairs to be sure, but every now and again there is gold to be found. And without even knowing what I was in for here, as I hadn't heard about "Fear Below" prior to watching it, then maybe director Matthew Holmes was holding a cache of gold here.

Writers Matthew Holmes and Gregory Moss put together a pretty straightforward script and storyline, though it was a bit generic. But ultimately it was an adequate enough storyline. However, the movie didn't really have a lot of actual scenes with the shark, which was sort of disappointing. So you're more in for a crime thriller here, than you are a shark movie.

I was not familiar with a single actor or actress on the cast list. But then again, I am not overly familiar with the Australian cinema. The acting performances in "Fear Below" were certainly good. I do enjoy watching unfamiliar and new talents on the screen whenever I sit down to watch a movie, so that was something that spoke well in favor of the movie.

If you enjoy shark movies, then perhaps give "Fear Below" a chance. Just keep in mind that there isn't a whole lot of actual shark action throughout the course of the 85 minutes that the movie ran for.

"Fear Below" is hardly a movie that warrants more than a single viewing.

My rating of director Matthew Holmes's 2025 movie "Fear Below" lands on a five out of ten stars.