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The year 2026 has been utterly swamped with shark thrillers. As anyone who recently sat through the bargain-bin disaster that was Chum can tell you, quantity definitely doesn’t mean quality. Fortunately, Above and Below arrives like a rogue wave to wash away the bad taste of lesser creature features. It delivers a relentless, high-octane survival thriller that actually remembers how to keep audiences on the edge of their seats.
Above and Below is helmed by veteran action director Jesse V. Johnson (Savage Dog). Tony Giordano penned the script for the film, which wastes zero time. It quickly plunges its cast and the audience into a multi-front nightmare.
Warning: Spoilers
Cocaine, Cages, and Apex Predators
The premise serves up a classic recipe for vacation chaos. Five friends head off for a bucket-list shark dive. However, their excursion derails when they spot a massive stash of cartel cocaine. Before they can even wrap their heads around the discovery, the owners of the contraband begin turning them into chum.
Trapped inside a shark cage, friends Tatiana and Kaley are handed a savage ultimatum by the cartel. The two must dive down to the seafloor to recover the missing bricks, or get executed on the spot. However, what ensues is a claustrophobic gauntlet where the threat above the surface is just as deadly as the one below it. The survivors are forced to dodge trigger-happy narcos, vanishing oxygen levels, and outmaneuver a shiver of hungry Great Whites circling their every move. It’s a recipe that genuinely works.
A Cast Worth Rooting For
Unlike so many disposable slasher-style shark flicks where you actively root for the fish, Above and Below actually gives you a reason to care about the people in jeopardy. The ensemble is anchored by Laura Marano (The Royal Treatment), Christina Ochoa (A Million Little Things), and the legend himself, Antonio Banderas (Desperado, The Mask of Zorro), who brings an effortless, suave gravitas to every single frame he occupies.
Round out the deck with rugged character actors like Timothy V. Murphy (Sons of Anarchy), Louis Mandylor (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), and Jess Liaudin, and you have a cast that commits fully to the tension. The subplots, ranging from a couple on the rocks to a brother struggling with a crippling gambling addiction, interlock seamlessly with the cartel plot, giving the human drama actual weight between the jump scares.
I recently sat down for a chat with director Jesse V. Johnson and star Laura Marano. In the interview, they talk about the challenges of filming, the story, and how scenes and the sharks were made. I recommend that you check it out.
The FX
For any maritime horror movie, the quality of the aquatic villains can make or break the entire experience. Impressively, the visual effects here are seamless enough to keep you completely immersed. Utilizing a clever blend of real aquarium footage and cutting-edge digital enhancements, the production treats the Great Whites with the visual weight and respect they deserve as nature’s ultimate apex predators.
From the opening hook to the final frame, Above and Below balances tight narrative pacing with near-nonstop action. It serves as a brutal reminder that open-water paranoia is entirely justified, and that crossing international drug traffickers is an even quicker way to get killed.
Also, I have to give props not only to the FX crew, but also to cinematographer Maxime Alexandre, who captured both the above and below fantastically. The movie looks great.
The Verdict:
If recent shark movies left you feeling stranded at sea, this one officially restores faith in the subgenre. Two big fins up. Above and Below is in theaters now. So, dive in before the water clears.
