Undertow (1996)

Director:

Eric Red

Writers:

Eric Red (written by) &
Kathryn Bigelow (written by)

Genre:

Action | Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

Just below the surface lies a deadly trap.

Plot:

After his car breaks down, Jack seeks shelter, lost in a thunderstorm in a remote shack in the woods...

Plot Keywords:

Abusive Husband | Axe | Bear Trap | Boiler Room | Car Wreck

Cast

Lou Diamond Phillips	...	Jack Ketchum
Mia Sara	...	Willie Yates
Charles Dance	...	Lyle Yates

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (video premiere) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Latvia

Company:

Lietuvos Kinostudija

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the hurricane sequence, the wind has enough force to blow windows out of the house, but the nearby trees are standing perfectly straight and not a leaf is moving. Bright sunlight can be seen in the treetops in several shots.

Eventually sinks under it's own weight...

Despite (or perhaps because of) high expectations Undertow started off as an interesting thriller but had trouble sustaining it's (relatively short) length and just didn't seem to have the pace or intensity required to carry it to it's end successfully.

Being a fan of much of writer/director Eric Red's previous work, most notably as a writer of such fine films as The Hitcher, Near dark and Blue Steel (the last two in combination with his writing partner here, Kathryn Bigelow) I was expecting a taut, suspenseful film. However while the film didn't match up to these earlier works it definitely wasn't a total waste, and on a smaller scale was a quite entertaining, if somewhat limited, experience.

Overall the acting from the three leads was quite good, with Dance's performance especially being distinctly well handled without relying on over the top histrionics, while Phillips and Sara both playing their less flashy parts solidly enough. Eric Red handles the direction well for the most part but is perhaps, if anything, a little too meandering at times in what ultimately unfolds more like a play than a film.

Probably the film's biggest fault is that much like Red's direction, the film itself is just a little too understated for the most part, and then, as is often the case with films of this nature, it tends to go from believability to stretching credibility a tad too far just for the sake of theatrics at the end, the result of which ultimately just diminishes the overall impact of what has come before.

Overall Undertow is a solid, if unremarkable thriller that definitely has it's moments, it's just that not all of those moments are as good as they could have been.

One man's opinion. 7/10