FEAR BELOW - Mark Reviews Movies

Fear Below, Saban Films

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Review by Mark Dujsik | May 1, 2025

Great white sharks probably have a few hundred pointy reasons to fear them, but Fear Below bucks the trend (or, at this point, expectation) of several decades of so many movies using the same species of shark as a threat. In it, the man-eater is a bull shark, which we learn, while not nearly as large as the shark-movie go-to species, can be quite aggressive when its territory is encroached upon and can live in both salt and fresh water. In other words, a bull shark seems a pretty logical threat for people in or near the water.

For screenwriters Matthew Holmes (who also directed) and Gregory Moss, the next step, of course, is come up with a reason to put people in or near the water to be threatened by said shark. Here's yet another neat thing the film does, because this is a period piece, set in post-World War II Australia, featuring old-fashioned diving equipment and other gear that really doesn't look like it's going to cause a ferocious shark much trouble. Oh, the water of this river is quite murky, too, so even when the shark is close by, these divers don't notice until they're looking right into the whites of its jagged teeth.

A lot of this might make it sound as if Holmes and the crew are cutting some budgetary corners with their little shark thriller, but that's far from the case, actually. In re-creating the period, the film is quite convincing, and as for the shark, the beast is even more so, because Holmes knows the idea of this predator—hunting unseen in this dark waters—is just as frightening as its actual appearance. When the shark does show itself, however, it and its savage bites look authentic, as well.

The plot revolves around a small-time diving company, owned by Ernie (Arthur Angel) but mostly run by his only two employees, Clara (Hermione Corfield) and Jimmy (Jacob Junior Nayinggul). They're approached by Dylan Maddock (Jake Ryan) and his two quiet associates to find a van that accidentally went into the river and sank to the bottom. They don't need the van, only what's inside it. What Dylan doesn't mention is that the vehicle's cargo consists of a few dozen crates of stolen gold bullion or that there used to be a fourth associate. In the prologue, he's the one who swerves the van to avoid something and whom Dylan shoots for his carelessness.

What nobody knows about the situation, however, is that the dead man's body, which was unceremoniously tossed in the river, was dragged down by something. We know that, though, so as the trio of divers set up their suits and rigs, we're aware it's only a matter of time before that shark appears to attack.

Holmes and Moss' script is more than that, obviously, because the characters' awareness of the shark means that they suddenly have a very good reason not to go into the water unless it's absolutely necessary. That's why the gangsters are important, as both a driving force for the plot and a threat unto themselves. After all, they're paying Ernie very good money, which could save his struggling business and let the operation buy equipment that could make it competitive with bigger ones, for doing this job. That we know Dylan has no intentions of letting Ernie, Clara, and Jimmy live after they retrieve the gold adds another layer of tension—out of the shark's mouth and right in front of the mobster's machine gun, basically.

This means the film provides two different but well-constructed thrillers in one. There's the stuff with the gangsters, as Dylan and his cronies try not to play their hand too transparently, while the divers gradually deduce exactly why their employers seem so suspicious. The underlying conflict between the two parties escalates, obviously, but it does so deliberately and with a few additional complications, including the unexpected arrival of a police officer (played by Will Fletcher) who wonders why Dylan didn't report the van accident in the first place.

Anyway, the plot on dry land is fine, but the shark is the more prevalent and prominent threat here. It's notable just how much suspense putting this story in a period setting adds to the material, because the technology is barely effective for the task at hand (The divers are walking on the river bed while wearing a lot of weighty gear, after all), let alone detecting or actually repelling a shark that seems eager to attack humans. After realizing what's in the water, Ernie calls in an expert fisherman named Bob (Clayton Watson) for help, and his grizzled beard and tough, no-nonsense demeanor make him seem like the perfect answer for the problem. Let's just say that the screenplay doesn't do exactly what we might anticipate with this character, but it does give us the first decent view of the shark outside of the grimy water.

If the filmmakers used digital trickery for the shark, it's not apparent. The most notable moments with the creature clearly implement practical effects, including a disturbingly convincing puppet with hazy eyes and, naturally, those teeth. It looks ferocious, and its bite has a tangible quality that can't be faked. Add to that the menacing gangster subplot, the attention to detail in the process and procedures of this kind of diving, and the clever escalation and occasional subversion of this narrative, and Fear Below is a smartly made shark movie.

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