47 Meters Down has unveiled its second trailer, and it looks like it’s shaping up to be another intense addition to the well-trod genre of shark thrillers. Such films have been frequent fare for the big screen ever since the release of Jaws, Steven Spielberg’s seminal 1975 blockbuster. In recent years, their output has somewhat waned, but last year’s The Shallows seems to have reignited interest in shark-infested horror flicks.
That movie starred Blake Lively in heated tête-à-tête with a Great White, beginning with an innocuous trip to an isolated surf beach and fast descending into a terrifying tale of survival. Now, 47 Meters Down is picking up the torch. Mandy Moore and Claire Holt (The Originals) lead as Lisa (Moore) and Kate (Holt), two sisters who decide to recoup from a bad breakup with a vacation on the Mexican coast. Once there, they decide to do a little thrill-seeking and go cage diving, but the experience quickly turns deadly when the rope snaps and they plummet to the bottom of the ocean, where they’re left to fend off hungry sharks with a dwindling oxygen supply.
The newest trailer amps up the gore — and the fright factor — featuring Lisa and Kate in several unnervingly close encounters, plus not just one, but an entire pack of savage sharks. In a particularly chilling scene, Lisa lights up a flare while swimming through dark waters, only to discover there are three open-mouthed sharks speeding straight toward her.
It’s a simple premise, but it looks promising enough, having already nabbed a few positive early reviews from the horror community. Director Johannes Roberts, who also co-wrote the script, has had a rather hit or miss trajectory, though his star is certainly rising. He helmed last year’s poorly received The Other Side of the Door, but was recently tapped to lead The Strangers 2, the long-awaited sequel to Bryan Bertino’s 2008 invasion thriller.
For its part, 47 Meters Down has had a somewhat rocky path to screen. It was initially acquired by Dimension Films back in 2014, then shelved for a couple years before getting a direct to video release under the name In the Deep. But shortly before, Freestyle Media nabbed the rights and re-upped it to a wide theatrical bow set for this summer.
All of which is to say that 47 Meters Down could go in either direction, so it’s best watch with an open mind. If nothing else, it will be interesting to see Moore in a role drastically different from her current turn in the breakout hit family TV series, This Is Us.
47 Meters Down arrives in theaters on June 16, 2017.
Source: 47 Meters Down
