Director:Â Adrian Grunberg
Screenplay:Â Carlos Cisco, Boise Esquerra
Starring: Josh Lucas, Fernando Urrejola, Venus Ariel, Carlos Solórzano, Julio Cesar Cedillo, Jorge A. Jimenez
Country: USA, Mexico, Dominican Republic
Running Time: 100 min
Year:Â 2023
BBFC Certificate: 15
The Sturges family are on a working vacation in Baja where Dad Paul (Lucas) must inspect a failing oil rig for potential decommissioning. That’s the least of their problems though when they become stranded on the rig with a couple of workers, no phone reception and a mythical megalodon – known as The Black Demon – awaiting them in the murky waters below.
With the imminent release of a sequel to The Meg, this much lower budget megalodon movie does feel a little like a wave-riding cash grab, a remora clinging to Jason Statham’s improbably beer-fuelled abs, but The Black Demon should not be immediately tossed back into the sea, especially when compared to other shark movies I’ve reviewed for this site. Unlike the likes of Shark Bait or The Reef: Stalked, The Black Demon has some strong character work, and with characters who aren’t all detestable. Plus there’s some pretty good, if sparing, shark business here, and an added wrinkle of being near the eponymous behemoth can make you see things, so there’s more potential for horror moments.
Josh Lucas is good in the lead role, but he does fall back a little on his stock in trade of playing smarmy arseholes. His Paul is initially just a normal guy, but over the course of the story he becomes harder and harder to root for as his actions become more erratic and his involvement with the rig’s history becomes more and more concerning, but he always remains a believable and realistic character. Fernanda Urrejola is excellent as Paul’s wife Ines, particularly excelling in an early bar scene, and Venus Ariel and Carlos Solórzano make effective use of relatively thin characters as the Sturges children, Audrey and Tommy. It’s a shame that the cornerstone of Audrey’s personality is that she likes to paint her fingernails, but Solórzano gets to deliver quite a range as Tommy, who gets a little morbid later in the film. Julio Cesar Cedillo is another standout as rig worker Chato.
There’s a clear anti-capitalist message at play here, though the thought behind it gets a little lost in the murk with other plot developments overshadowing the themes. At times it feels like too many plates are being spun for them all to perform equally, but the story did take a couple of directions I didn’t see coming, and that’s always appreciated. More could have been done with the visions idea, as other than a couple of jump scares and other minor moments, it never becomes all that relevant. I thoroughly enjoyed one moment with a detached eyeball, though. The climax is a little unsatisfying in that it’s easily second-guessed and thought around whilst it’s happening, but it works within the story that is being told.
If you’ve been put off by the flood of negative reviews The Black Demon has received, I’d suggest at least giving it a shot. There’s plenty to enjoy here, and whilst the megalodon is sadly not the star of the show, when it does show up it’s worth the wait.
The Black Demon is available digitally on June 19th, and on DVD and Blu-Ray from Signature Entertainment on July 17th.