Into the Deep

Fifty years after Matt Hooper famously suggested they were going to need a bigger boat, Richard Dreyfuss has finally decided to test the waters again. There’s something inherently poetic—or perhaps just deeply ironic—about seeing the man who helped birth the modern blockbuster return to the sub-genre that started it all. But Into the Deep isn't trying to be the next Jaws (1975). In the landscape of 2025’s streaming-first cinema, it’s aiming for something much more specific: the "Action-Horror Hybrid" that populates the middle rows of your favorite digital storefront.

I watched this on a Tuesday night while my neighbor was relentlessly power-washing his driveway, and honestly, the rhythmic, muffled droning of his machine actually provided a better ambient soundtrack for the underwater sequences than most of the actual score.

A Recipe for Chum

The setup is classic B-movie efficiency. We’ve got a group of divers—led by the perpetually capable Scout Taylor-Compton (who I still maintain was the best part of Rob Zombie’s Halloween reimagining)—searching for sunken treasure. Naturally, they aren't alone. They stumble upon a mid-sea execution carried out by modern-day pirates, led by a surprisingly menacing Stuart Townsend. If you haven't seen Townsend since he was chewing scenery in Queen of the Damned (2002), he’s leaned into a rugged, weathered villainy here that fits him like an old wetsuit.

The twist, if you can call it that, is the "Third Party" candidate: a massive great white shark that doesn’t care about drug money or sunken gold. Director Christian Sesma (who has become a bit of a specialist in these high-concept VOD thrillers like Section 8) spends the first half of the film leaning into the thriller aspect. It’s essentially a hostage drama on flippers until the fins start breaking the surface. I’ve seen more convincing CGI in a 2004 PlayStation 2 cutscene, but for the most part, Sesma is smart enough to keep his monster in the shadows—or at least in the murky, silt-filled depths where digital imperfections are easier to hide.

Legacy Bait and Modern Weight

The real draw here for a cinema nerd like me is the cast. Seeing Jon Seda—an actor I’ve admired since his Homicide: Life on the Street days—sharing screen time with Richard Dreyfuss feels like a weird collision of different eras of "Prestige TV" and "New Hollywood." Dreyfuss plays Seamus, the grizzled elder statesman of the sea, and while he isn't exactly doing the heavy lifting in terms of action, his presence gives the film a soul it otherwise wouldn't have. He brings a certain "I’m too old for this, but the mortgage isn't" gravitas that is oddly charming.

However, the film struggles with the typical 2020s "Streaming Bloat." At 90 minutes, it’s not long, but the middle act feels like it’s treading water—pun intended—waiting for the inevitable moment when the human antagonists become shark snacks. The screenplay by Josh Ridgway and Chad Law hits every beat you expect. You’ve seen this movie before, possibly under five different titles on a Sunday afternoon, but there’s a comfort in that. It’s a film that knows exactly what its "Buy/Rent" button is worth.

The Digital Murk

Technically, the film is a fascinating look at where mid-budget production is right now. Niccolo De La Fere’s cinematography handles the underwater stuff decently, using the limited visibility to build genuine tension during the pirate-vs-diver skirmishes. There are moments where the lighting feels a bit too "studio tank" and not enough "Open Atlantic," but in an era where we’re increasingly used to the flat, sterile look of LED volumes and green screens, the practical splashes here feel almost nostalgic.

The representation of the pirates is where the film feels most "current." They aren't cartoonish swashbucklers; they are desperate, tech-savvy mercenaries, reflecting our modern anxieties about lawlessness in international waters. It’s just a shame the shark often feels like an afterthought to the human drama. When you have a great white on the poster, the audience generally expects it to be the lead actor, not a supporting player who only shows up for the finale. Honestly, the film is the underwater equivalent of a CVS-brand thriller—it gets the job done, even if you know you’re paying for the convenience rather than the quality.

Into the Deep is a perfectly serviceable "Saturday Night In" movie that benefits immensely from its cast's commitment to the bit. While it lacks the sheer terror of The Shallows (2016) or the claustrophobic dread of 47 Meters Down (2017), it offers a weirdly comforting bridge between the blockbuster past and our VOD present. It’s worth a watch just to see Richard Dreyfuss look a shark in the eye one more time, even if this time the shark is made of pixels instead of pneumatic pistons and frustration.