A mostly one-woman show featuring Kiersey Clemmons, this movie initially skips backstory and setup to jump immediately into plot. Skewing explanation and spending the majority of the film dialogue free, the movie begins watching a woman named Jenn scavenging to live on an isolated island in the aftermath of some unrevealed accident. The focus is on Jenn adapting to her circumstances and environment, initially reliant upon wreckage and washed up luggage but through trial and error, gaining the skills to survive independently. A good thing, as each night a horrible aquatic monster emerges from the sea and hunts for her. These sequences are intense and gripping, reliant upon some brilliant sound design and nicely restrained direction that limits our perception of the creature to only what the protagonist experiences. This is doubly a boon, as that the creature works best shrouded in shadow and not fully revealed. Midway through the film, there’s a slight shift with the introduction of additional characters who unveil just enough tidbit of backstory to inform the narrative and to raise doubts about the protagonist’s mental state. But these elements seem like distraction, and the movie would likely be better served having shed them entirely. The battle between Jenn, the monster and the elements works on multiple levels and the final confrontation is very effective while brilliantly illustrating the evolution of Jenn’s character. The flaws are unfortunately with the creature itself, which upon full unveiling is rather underwhelming and even goofy looking. The director wisely restricts the creature to nighttime or underwater viewing, but the damage is done. There could also be work done in the makeup and wardrobe department as even battle-wounded and hardened, Jenn comes off looking like she’s lounging in a tropical paradise photoshoot. Regardless, this is a rather well done minimalist horror film that while streamlined and exposition free could still use more polish and trim some baggage.
Sweetheart