Shark movies have become a genre within themselves. They’re generally pretty hit-and-miss, though. For every good shark movie, there’s an equal and opposite bad one. For every Jaws, there’s a Shark Night. For every The Shallows, there’s a Santa Jaws. And for every Open Water, there’s a The Last Breath.
The Last Breath is about an old seaman named Levi (Warlock’s Julian Sands in what would wind up being his final role) and his first mate, Noah (Jack Parr from Peaky Blinders), who, after searching long and hard, finally locate a wrecked WWII warship called the USS Charlotte.
A group of Noah’s college friends happen to be in town, and when they find out about the Charlotte, they want to scuba dive the site. Levi and Noah initially refuse, but money talks, and soon the group is underwater exploring the shipwreck. Of course, there are sharks in and around the ship, and the gang quickly gets trapped within the vessel’s labyrinthian corridors with the man-eating predators.
Directed by Joachim Hedén (Breaking Surface) from a screenplay by Nick Saltrese (Shark Bait) and a story by Andrew Prendergast (An American Exorcism), The Last Breath is…a shark movie. In a sub-genre that is flooded (both figuratively and literally) with content, it just sort of blends in. It’s well made, and it’s suspenseful and intriguing enough, it’s just that it doesn’t really stand out from any of the other hundreds (or even thousands?) of shark movies out there.
All of the tropes and stereotypes are there. The group of divers is trapped, unable to communicate for help with the surface, while sharks keep them pinned down. There’s the added ticking clock of their air running low (hence the title) which adds a layer of tension to the festivities, but for the most part, you know what you’re going to get with The Last Breath – computer-generated sharks hunting good-looking young people until there’s an ultimate sacrifice to save the day.
The Last Breath does play pretty well into established fears, making it a decent enough horror movie. There’s the fear of water, sharks, drowning, enclosed spaces, being lost, and even mistrust of one’s friends. But even reinforcing these very real fears, the movie sensationalizes them in exploitational ways. You’re not just going to drown, you’re going to drown alone at the bottom of the sea when your friends ditch you. You’re not just going to be attacked by a shark, you’re going to be ripped apart so that you bleed to death before the hungry predator eats you. It’s a creature feature slasher movie, no more, no less.
There’s obviously a market for movies like The Last Breath, which is why so many of them exist. And, in reality, that demographic will probably have fun with The Last Breath. But they’ll also move on once the next movie like it is released. The Last Breath is far from a classic. It’s just another fish in the sea.
GRADE: C
MPAA Rating: R for bloody and grisly images, and language
Release Date: July 26, 2024 in theaters and On Demand
Running Time: 92 minutes
Distributor: RLJE Films
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