3 star serviceable shark film.
Something in the Water is a 2024 British survival thriller film, written by Cat Clarke (Ten Percent (TV series)) and directed by Hayley Easton Street, in her feature directorial debut.
It is available to own in the UK from 9th September 2024 on DVD and Blu-ray.
“Alright ladies, let’s Fast and Furious the f*** out of this place!”
The film opens fashionably with two lesbians, Meg (Hiftu Quasem – Sebastian) and Kayla (Natalie Mitson – The Last Bus), walking home late at night discussing their best friends nuptials. They are targeted by a group of teenage girls and Kayla can’t resist reacting, leading to Meg being brutally beaten.
One year later and Meg and Kayla haven’t seen each other since that night. Best friend Lizzie (Lauren Lyle – Mercy Falls, The Outrun) has invited their entire group to her dream wedding in the Caribbean, but as Meg arrives, she receives a call from Ruth (Ellouise Shakespeare-Hart – One Four Three) warning her that Cam (Nicole Rieko Setsuko – In Her City) has sent Kayla to pick her up.
Of course this is awkward, but the beautiful location is hard to ignore and they want to enjoy the experience. The day before the wedding and Cam has a bright idea, they will take a boat out together to a remote island for one last fling. She also wants to try and get Meg and Kayla back together. But interfering in matters of the heart, lesbian or otherwise, rarely goes well, especially when there turns out to be a random shark on the rampage. Who will survive this bitey hen-do?
“Wakey wakey, Meg. It’s time to rise and f****** shine. We’re kidnapping Lizzie today.”
Something in the Water is aptly named, there is indeed something in the water, but it’s mostly women who need relationship counselling and the Caribbean is definitely not the best place for that.
The characters are quite well defined from the start, we do feel some affinity and the tension builds well for the first half of the film, but all of that seems to come undone later, when the shark seems to be largely forgotten, just swimming around in the background for effect while we concentrate on matters of much more importance, like their relationships.
The knowledge of shark behaviours is about what you would expect from a British film, but the shark, when you do see it, doesn’t look too bad, the C.G.I. is decent. The location is also amazing and credit for making good use of it, with some sweeping vistas. It’s nothing new, and while it’s not the best I’ve seen, it’s not the worst either.
“OK first of all, size isn’t everything. Just kidding. And second of all, this is supposed to be an adventure and you can’t have a proper adventure on a fancy pants luxury yacht. Everyone knows that.”
SOMETHING IN THE WATER will be available to own on Blu-ray and DVD from 9th September
| Director | Hayley Easton Street |
| Genre | Drama, thriller |
| Starring | Hiftu Quasem, Natalie Mitson, Nicole Reiko Setsuko, Lauren Lyle, Ellouise Shakespeare-Hart |
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