ABOVE AND BELOW Review: Antonio Banderas Shows His Teeth In Jesse V. Johnson’s Shark Survival Thriller
Above And Below opens in theaters on July 29 from Aura Entertainment.
Director Jesse V. Johnson steps out of familiar territory these days for something a little different with Above And Below, a new thriller in a genre that still has an audience with an affinity for deep sea terror. This one puts us in the throes of a survival horror pitting lead actress Laura Marano against a maniacal crime boss when a gesture of leniency turns a Mexican holiday among five young adults into the vacation from watery hell.
Opening in a night club scene as Tatiana (Marano) and Kaylee (Christina Ochoa) party on the dance floor, it’s not until the next day that the goings-on Tatiana’s gambling addict brother, Kyle (Diego Llinás) proffers the rest of the gang, including male cohorts Danny (Ryan Bertroche) and TJ (Donncha Tynan), for a day out on the open water for a cage diving expedition. Before they know it, they are joined adjacently by two shady men, Garrison (Jess Liaudin) and Martin (Louis Mandylor) carrying multiple bags on the same boat being helmed by Captain Logan (Timothy Murphy).
Red flags going off for Tatiana notwithstanding, a reassuring Kyle allows for the rest of the group to enjoy themselves until one moment when Martin’s penchants get the best of him, as does his hairtrigger. Violence begets more violence before crimeboss Burns (Antonio Banderas) can finally arrives to collect said bags, only to learn that one of his bags has sunken to the ocean floor. Now, trapped between a mad man, shark infested waters and a steel cage with limited oxygen to spare, it’s up to Tatiana to do what she can to save her friends before it’s too late.
Marano holds her own as the prominent lead having to forge herself in the moment as the voice of reason while working to outwit Bruno and his goons. Mandylor and Liaudin work excellently as the criminal odd couple with the latter’s more even-handed character working to keep things in line opposite his counterpart who at one point decides getting up for a smoke and leaving his bag out of side was the smart move.
While the sharks are more lateral as centerpiece of the film’s spectacle of violence and gore, Mandylor is fantastic as one of the film’s core antagonists, although leave it to Banderas to be the one to show his teeth in a shark movie. I’ve been a Banderas fan since Desperado warped my fragile little mind, and I’ve seen plenty of his filmography enough to assert that he never disappoints.
Above And Below touts a lot of the usual underhanded decision making by characters that lands them in the predicaments they end up in, so there’s nothing really new to observe there. What matters is how it all plays out, and for what it’s worth, Above And Below is bodes pretty well-paced and exciting at times, certainly enough to not leave you drowning. If you like shark movies and Banderas chewing it up accordingly, Johnson’s Above And Below is worth diving into.
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
