Parents' Guide to Into the Deep

Every actor in this strange shark thriller plays their role like they're auditioning for a soap opera, with emotions so exaggerated that nuance never stands a chance. Scout Taylor-Compton's Cassidy, the heroine of Into the Deep, spends most of the film trapped in a repetitive trauma arc that never lands, while the shark sequences feel like uninspired interruptions rather than moments of real threat. The sharks themselves become clichés, popping up like visual filler whenever the plot stalls, which is too often. And a late underwater sequence where Cassidy faces a shark as if she's on some spiritual retreat might be the film's most unintentionally funny scene.

The film's only genuinely interesting moment, ironically, arrives after the story is over, when Richard Dreyfuss delivers a strangely heartfelt eco-message about shark preservation during the closing credits, as if trying to repair their cinematic image after Jaws. Into the Deep is not so much terrible as it is completely forgettable, lacking any real scares, tension, or characters to care about. Teens will likely be bored, and adults should probably skip it entirely. Go swimming instead.