In "WHAT LURKS BENEATH" (2024) Melodic Sounds Haunt The Ocean Depths (REVIEW)
Covering over 70% of Earth’s surface, the ocean is an endless deep blue abyss that holds creatures and other inhabitants unknown to mankind. Beautiful yet terrifying, it has enticed us and will continue to for years to come with its mysteries.
It seems that no one knows this better than Director Jamie Bailey alongside writer Marcus Raul, in “What Lurks Beneath” starring Dela Reilley, Simon Phillips, and Ryan Giesen. This film follows the USS Titan and its crew as they are charting treacherous waters in Russian territory whilst on the brink of World War 3. It’s safe to say that it is absolutely necessary to be even more cautious of whom you trust under these circumstances. While inspecting the weaponry sector of the ship, members of the crew discover something unusual located in one of the torpedoes…
To their disbelief, a naked woman emerges from inside the large missile with dripping wet hair and a confused expression on her face. With a suspicion that she may be a Russian enemy that infiltrated the ship, they immediately devise a plan of what the next step will be. Two of the crew members on board are British and are able to speak a small amount of Russian. Captain Banks immediately advises them to use “any means necessary” to get her to talk.
An entrancing melody was heard earlier over the ship’s radio frequency system, leaving the crew confused as it was unlike anything they’d heard before. Since this unidentified woman has come aboard, the song has grown louder and closer. Still yet to speak, the “stowaway” continuously drinks copious amounts of water as the hours pass by. The crew is beginning to believe that this woman may not be what they think she is.
What Lurks Beneath was branded as a horror film, but gave us more of a suspense/ thriller feel overall. This could still be categorized as “horror” with the Siren aspect, but just not one of the typical horror tropes you may be used to. The kills shown on screen were minimal, but something about them being on a ship in the great depths of the ocean made them even more chilling. Some aspects did leave us with a few questions.
The two British crew members seemed suspicious enough for Captain Banks to question their trust in the USS Titan. Withholding vital information from the crew and Captain, while tinkering with the ship’s Communication System… Something seemed off from the beginning.
Unfortunately, we never really dive into their backstory. Whether they were trying to help the Russians, or if they knew about the Siren all along and wanted to prepare the crew without frightening them. Staying on the topic of characters and their development, the whole cast portrayed their roles as captains and crew aboard a military ship exceptionally well. Everything blended well and felt natural, even with some of these actors not having a huge filmography.
As an overall cinematic take, we enjoyed the aspect of everything being shot on a military ship. We could imagine it must be difficult to only work with one setting for the entirety of a film, but director Jamie Bailey executed it flawlessly and still kept us hooked for the 102-minute run time. The color scheme complimented the blue hues of the ocean with the ship’s interior being lined with luminescent red lights.
Not sure if it was intentional, but the colors red, white, and blue are presented throughout the whole film resembling the American flag. Timeline-wise, since this was supposed to be in a time period where World War 3 was a possibility, this would make sense.
Without spoiling too much, the connection with Sirens was enjoyable. We don’t often see many films depicting these mythical creatures, so it was refreshing to see the route they decided to follow with this one. The eerily beautiful song that the Siren sings has haunted our thoughts since watching. One thing we did find intriguing is that the Siren can also use telepathy to speak to the crew, and she has a liking for women. The men were the only ones that she was trying to hypnotize while trying to help the women on board overrun the ship. Insisting that they have all the power and don’t need the men to come to their rescue.
This film is suited for anyone who enjoys a horror film without the overabundance of gore and jump scares. The story was executed in a way that was easy to follow but still presented itself with questions that ended up being resolved at the end. Shrouded in mystery, the thought of what actually lurks beneath is frightening and will leave us cautious of any body of water for the foreseeable future, especially the ocean.
“What Lurks Beneath” is available for digital purchase on Fandango starting Friday, December 13th. It will also become available for streaming through Tubi starting December 27th. Thank you so much to Quiver Distribution for providing us an early screening to this film for our review, and we hope you enjoy!
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