It’s been a couple of hot and sticky summers since we’ve had a good shark movie to make us think twice about visiting the beach on a sunny day. With some recent incidents involving sharks being a little bit too close to the shore, it seems to be the perfect time to revisit one of our most feared fishies, whether or not they are called Bruce or trapped in a tornado.
And Under Paris, debuting this week on Netflix, is the perfect remedy for anyone missing those shark bite blues. It’s a solid mix of action and horror elements in which one large mama shark, adapting to the changing scenery of her habitat thanks to our growing and uncaring population, decides to make the Seine her home. I mean, really, why not explore the canals and catacombs? It makes for the perfect hiding place, especially if you’ve grown used to humans and prefer them as snacks, and need a safe place to repopulate the species.
Let the popcorn munching begin!
Directed by Xavier Gens, Under Paris opens with a haunting situation in which a team of oceanographers, tracking Lilith, one of the sharks they’ve tagged to track the effect of pollution on their population, find themselves in the North Atlantic garbage patch (which makes for a very interesting location), discovering that their shark has grown rapidly.
And she’s hungry.
What was once a tranquil place quickly turns into a bloodbath and the tightlipped Sophia (Bérénice Bejo) witnesses it all as her entire team is taken out by Lilith’s jaws of death. The scene is brutal with its blood splatter and features a take down that few could ever escape from, but Sophia does. This opening is both shocking, completely unrealistic (does it matter?!), and sets the tone for the rest of the movie.
And three years later, Lilith returns. Sophia, reluctantly assisting a team of younger (and dumber) environment do-gooders, finds herself in familiar waters as Lilith enters the Seine and swims among the waters taking in the sights of bridges and the buildings which overlook the water. It is the perfect place for her and her fellow sharks (and there are plenty in those catacombs!!) to hide.
While the film is filled with nonsense (That’s impossible!) dialogue and shark attacks which seem absolutely outrageous, Under Paris has the perfect B-movie tone to make it all work well. It’s incredibly fun, complete with three solid mass attacks while Paris and its incredibly stubborn Mayor (Anne Marivin) get ready for the Olympics, completely ignoring the threat in the waters below. A shark?! Really?
Co-starring Nassim Lyes, Under Paris - after dragging audiences through the catacombs and blowing a whole bunch of bridges up - ends on an absolute high. It’s a cliffhanger of sorts, but it is the perfect way to close the chapter on this round of humans vs adapted sharks, responding to the callousness with which we treat the planet. It will leave you hungry for more . . . just like Lilith.
Hollywood, still looking for a can’t miss film this summer, hot schooled by Japan with Godzilla Minus One and, now, with the release of Under Paris, get some lessons in satisfying moviemaking by the French. Is anyone listening? I didn’t think so.
Under Paris is now streaming on Netflix.
MPAA Rating: TV-MA.
Runtime: 104 mins
Director: Xavier Gens
Writer: Yannick Dahan; Maud Heywang; Xavier Gens
Cast: Bérénice Bejo; Nassim Lyes; Léa Léviant
Genre: Thriller | Horror
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote: "We finally found her."
Distributor: Netflix
Official Site: https://www.netflix.com/title/81210788
Release Date: June 5, 2024
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: In order to save Paris from an international bloodbath, a grieving scientist is forced to face her tragic past when a giant shark appears in the Seine.
