Today one of the best thrillers of the last decade is on TV. If you don’t immediately think of The Shallows, you should definitely take a closer look at this little masterpiece today.
Thriller master Jaume Collet-Serra brought the great survival thriller The Shallows to the cinemas 7 years ago. The film starring Blake Lively is so good and thrilling that it made it into our top 100 best films of the last decade. Below you can find out where The Shallows came in and why. Today you can watch it on TV.
This is what The Shallows is about
Nancy (Blake Lively) seeks out a secluded cove to surf all day. But she is not alone at the beautiful spot somewhere on the Mexican coast. Two other surfers make their rounds – and later also a hungry shark. Nancy barely survives the first attack, she saves herself on a rock. This is the simple scenario in which the thriller circles: a young woman, the sea, a shark – and the saving shore in the far, but visible distance.
Simple but incredibly intense survival thrill in The Shallows
The Shallows slid into a very strong 62nd place in Moviepilot’s top 100 best films of the last decade. What did it do to earn it? A man confronts a superior enemy with meagre resources in a hostile environment. The shark in The Shallows leaves Blake Lively’s character no room for error and demands the last shred of will to survive. Nancy struggles, improvises and tactics against the ever-circling shark while some shreds of flesh from her body are already lodged in its tooth spaces.
Every now and then, The Shallows moves jerkily forward. Violent waves of tension are followed by periods of rest for Nancy and the audience. The director uses these quiet moments purposefully so that the events can settle down. But the tension remains at an insane level until the finale, without any unrealistic twists. Hardly any thriller has managed that in recent years.
