Kristen Stewart’s Top Movie Arrives…

By August Tales

The 2020 sci-fi thriller Underwater, met lukewarm reception on release. Today, though, it enjoys a cult following, stunning cosmic horror fans with its jaw-dropping Lovecraftian denouement.

As one of Hulu’s prime choices for October’s streaming selections, Underwater joins Signs, Unbreakable, and The Fly. Critical reception was certainly split, but audiences resonated with its plot. The film beautifully marries themes of horror and science fiction. The highlight, however, is a tribute to cosmic horror in its climax. Initially mistaken for a catastrophe film akin to The Core or Poseidon, Underwater soon reveals itself as a creature-feature with an unmissable Lovecraftian twist. An ensemble cast led by Kristen Stewart and Vincent Cassel bring depth to this thriller.

The plot unfolds in a deep-sea drilling facility crippled by an earthquake. It tracks a group of trapped workers, led by Kristen Stewart’s engineer character Norah Price. They navigate the collapsing station, escaping deep-sea monsters while racing for survival. Though some reach the escape pods, a monster swarm threatens their final bid for freedom. However, Price has one last trick up her sleeve, overloading the station’s nuclear core to blast the creatures and pave their escape.

A Lovecraftian Surprise for the Finale

For fans thirsting for Lovecraftian cinema, Underwater quenches their desires. The climax introduces a towering entity looming over the facility, prompting Price’s nuclear overload. Although the explosion masks the creature, a fleeting glimpse of its silhouette likens it to Cthulhu, a cosmic entity from author H. P. Lovecraft’s mythical universe. Similar depictions in cinema have been few and far between, with movies like The Void and Cabin in the Woods merely hinting at cosmic horror. However, cinematic successes including The Mist and Event Horizon drew viewers into this alternate, eerie universe with remarkable conviction.

Director William Eubank divulged that Cthulhu was the monster lurking in Underwater’s closing scene. He commended his team for nailing the reference during the film’s creation. “We were able to shift the designs towards a darker, more Lovecraftian thing,” he shared. As for the gigantic “Behemoth” at the end, Eubank asked his artists to visualize a god-like figure— a cosmic entity on a level higher than any other monster. “It’s so perfect,” beamed the director.

Starting October 1, Underwater is available for streaming on Hulu.