47 Meters Down (2017)

Directed by: Johannes Roberts | 89 minutes | adventure, drama, horror, thriller | Actors: Mandy Moore, Claire Holt, Chris Johnson, Yani Gellman, Santiago Segura, Matthew Modine

We like to go on holiday, but apparently we also like to watch people who go on holiday. And because there is reportedly no better entertainment than gloating, we prefer to watch people whose holidays don’t go quite as planned. A popular subject, because you can go in all directions with this premise: from comedy (‘Snatched’) to drama (‘Turist’), from crime (‘Taken 2’) to disaster films (‘The Impossible’). With the rising popularity of ‘dangerous holidays’, the scenario of a horror/thriller with this theme is almost writing itself.

’47 Meters Down’ is about such a horror holiday. Two sisters, Lisa (Mandy Moore) and Kate (Claire Holt), are in a luxury resort in Mexico. The kind of hotel that might as well be in another sunny destination, because you often don’t get any further than the pool, bar and bed. The ladies don’t really want to admit it, but they are already bored to death. Now that Lisa can’t keep up appearances and explains the real reason her boyfriend isn’t with us (he didn’t have to work, but broke up with it), Kate decides that things have to change. They go out right away. Of course they hooked up two handsome Mexicans almost immediately. Not much later, the invitation follows to go deep-sea diving in a cage, to view sharks.

Because the two sisters are opposites, one introverted, calm and thoughtful, the other exuberant, adventurous and spontaneous, this naturally creates extra tension between the two. That does not create tension in the story, because you know exactly which of the two is right. “I don’t know if this is a good plan.” “Come on, imagine how your ex-boyfriend reacts to the pictures you can take!|” And the title more or less tells what happens. The tap used to gently lower the cage into the water snaps and the cage sinks with the girls in – with limited oxygen supply and one with no diving experience, 47 meters down. What follows is a story of survival, sisterhood, and the beauty and dangers of the ocean.

Of course ’47 Meters Down’ is a formula movie. But it is a very entertaining formula film. The viewer can empathize incredibly well in the nightmare that the ladies undergo, the scares are scarce, but well-timed and convincing and there is decent acting. The claustrophobic atmosphere – most of the film takes place in or around the cage – does the rest. Great and effective holiday video!