Movies
‘The Requin’ Review – Alicia Silverstone Shark Movie Is Submerged Under Rough Waters
Written and directed by Le-Van Kiet, The Requin follows Jaelyn (Alicia Silverstone) and Kyle (James Tupper), who have taken off to vacation in Vietnam and escape some recent pain. One night, a horrible storm sweeps in and wreaks havoc on their villa, which just so happens to be standing over the water. The ferocity of the storm rips the villa away from the rest of the resort, pulling Jaelyn and Kyle far out into the ocean. There, they must do all they can to survive, and hope someone comes to save them. That premise alone may sound like a few other aqua related horror stories you’ve seen or read before – but you may not be ready for what The Requin has to offer.
The reasoning behind the couple’s vacation involves a tragic loss they have suffered; Jaelyn is struggling with trauma and the couple are doing what they can to be together and heal. This background does allow for sincere moments of emotion – yet ultimately doesn’t do much for the movie. From the moment this film starts, there is a jarring tone to the dialogue. As one of the first scenes involving the couple plays out, one comes to feel a sense that these are actors striving to act like a married couple, rather than provide performances that make us feel they are one. From there, The Requin unravels into a work of goofy and bland melodrama.
It is very tough to take much of anything serious throughout the film. To The Requin’s credit, while there are those more emotional moments that provide some depth to the characters, there’s also the initial shark encounter, which does make for strong tension. That is until you see the sharks. Some of the CGI is cartoonish, totally undercutting scenes that should be thrilling or suspenseful. That said, the CGI could honestly be forgivable if it weren’t for everything else. The Requin suffers the most from weak writing, a tonally odd narrative, and lackluster performances.
Outside of the early scenes where we learn why the couple are away, so much of their performances either over sell on emotion, or under sell when something should be more seriousness. The latter tends to pertain more to that of Tupper’s performance. Silverstone’s efforts to convey fear and anxiety provide a discomfort that is like hearing nails scratch across a chalk board. Though some scenes with her do convey a genuine feeling of distress, several scenes feel like that initial one where we first hear the couple talking to one another; here is a person being told to act scared and panicked, rather than provide a real essence that they are feeling those things.
While a lot of the dialogue either comes across too goofy or melodramatic, the story also goes to some weird tonal places at times. When the film strives to convey something that’s meant to be serious, it unfortunately falls victim to the melodramatic writing – conveying more silliness than heartfelt sincerity. One can tell there is a serious intent behind this work – and in some few cases, that intent shines through. However, those brief periods can’t do much to save this movie from its glaring issues. With a rough script, wonky CGI, and lackluster performances, The Requin has little to offer in terms of thrilling aquatic horror.
The Requin is now available on VOD outlets.
It’s been eight years since Ari Aster came onto the scene and helped usher in a new wave of horror with Hereditary, one of the rare horror movies from the past ten years that still seems to come up in conversation every single week. And it’s back in the conversation this week, with Ari Aster revealing at an event that he’s already written a prequel to Hereditary!
Ari Aster was on hand at the American Cinematheque for Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair last week, a Los Angeles festival that screened all of Aster’s movies to date. The website Gold Derby reports that Aster revealed the Hereditary prequel script during a Q&A at the event, and you can watch the full Q&A conversation below for confirmation on the website’s report.
“I wrote a prequel to this,” Aster told the crowd, referring to Hereditary. “It never feels like the right time to do it. It’s a prequel, not a sequel so I don’t know where this goes.”
Would a potential Hereditary prequel dig deeper into the mythology of demon king Paimon? Unfortunately, Aster provides no further details on his prequel approach at this time.
Aster said of Hereditary during the same Q&A, “I was just trying to make a really good horror movie.” I think most horror fans would agree that he more than accomplished that goal, and the past eight years have proven that Hereditary is an enduring classic of its generation.
We celebrated the fifth anniversary of Hereditary here on BD back in 2023.
Ron Breton wrote, “Hereditary offers a similar emotional resonance to this new generation of horror – my generation of horror– as movie-goers in the seventies when they first saw Exorcist. Much like Aster’s film, we see the incomprehensible evil wear the face of a young girl; the victim of a raw deal she had no say in, as it tears a family to its core. Sure, both films offer so many terrifying visuals that can make the hair stand up on anyone’s neck – but it also depicts intense relationships and emotions that are tangible. Real. Familiar.”
“In that familiarity lies the uncanny, ready to rear its ugly head and force us to confront thoughts and horrors laying dormant and clawing at our psyche,” Breton continued his 5th anniversary celebration of Hereditary. “And it doesn’t matter if it’s been five or fifty years. These horrors are always there, as we become pawns in its horrible, hopeless machine.”
Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, Ann Dowd, and Milly Shapiro star in Hereditary. In the film, “A grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences.”
That’s putting it mildly, eh?!
You must be logged in to post a comment.