As InRO‘s own Jake Tropila makes note of in his recent piece on the killer-shark-in-a-cave-movie The Devil’s Mouth, “shark movies have been seemingly omnipresent all year”; he goes on the cite Deep Water, Thrash, The Bay, and Chum as but the most recent examples. Into this crowded field we can also welcome Jesse V. Johnson’s Above and Below, which adds gangsters to an already deadly stew. Johnson is of course one of our finest contemporary action specialists, one of the masters of the American DTV scene. And while he’s likely best known for high-powered hand-to-hand combat (often starring martial artist Scott Adkins), Johnson has also dipped his toes into medieval combat (Boudica), Sam Fuller-inspired war thriller (Hell Hath No Fury), and the neo-Western (last year’s Thieves Highway). Above and Below is his first excursion into creature feature territory, but Johnson brings his typical steady hand and no-nonsense practicality to a genre often rife with absurdities and implausibilities. While the majority of the films mentioned above contrive ludicrous scenarios to put humans in the way of prehistoric death machines, Johnson’s humble film takes the shape of a small-scale, high-stakes thriller where sharks are just one of several obstacles.
It takes a few minutes to introduce all the players who will set the plot in motion: Tatiana (Laura Marano), her best friend Kayle (Christina Ochoa), and their respective boyfriends are partying in Mexico. It’s a last hurrah of sorts, as they’ll all soon be going their separate ways once they return to the States. While the core group drinks and dances at a club, Tatiana’s brother Kyle (Diego Llinas) is in the midst of a poker game with high roller Burns (Antonio Banderas). Kyle thinks he’s got a winning hand and goes all in, only to be stymied by the charming but shifty Burns. As a conciliatory gesture, Burns offers Kyle and his friends a tour on a shark sightseeing boat, free of charge. While Kyle doesn’t tell anyone about losing his entire life savings, he does tell them about the tour. Everyone loves the idea, and the next day they’re boarding a sleek, modern yacht, eager to drink and see some sharks (from the safety of a protective cage, of course).
Tensions quickly mount, however, when a couple of shady-looking guys also climb aboard, several duffle bags in tow. Kyle protests, saying that Burns guaranteed them a private tour experience, but the captain obviously knows these men and is powerless to turn them away. Martin (DTV mainstay Louis Mandylor) and Garrison (French MMA fighter Jess Liaudin) make themselves comfortable, as the boys go down under the water first and the girls sunbathe on the boat deck. Eventually, it’s the girls’ turn in the cage, but while they plunge into the murky depths one of the boys accidentally opens a duffle bag. To their surprise, there’s a bunch of drugs in it, and Martin immediately shoots some people. Soon, Burns and another henchman have been called to the scene, revealing Banderas as the local kingpin and Martin and Garrison as two of his bagmen. There are suddenly some dead bodies laying around, two young women trapped underwater with limited oxygen, and a bag filled to the brim with kilos of drugs tossed overboard, floating in shark infested waters.
Plenty more twists and turns are in store, and it would be remiss to spoil their pleasures or practicalities here. Suffice to say, Johnson maintains a clean, simple style as these various events unfold, as each character attempts to solve an immediate problem at hand only to find another immediately popping up. Above and Below‘s locations are limited to the boat deck and the shark cage tethered beneath it, and the film’s low budget precludes big CGI set pieces or huge, explosive action scenes. But there are ample delights to be found in watching people problem-solve, as the characters navigate their various predicaments. Johnson is a fine craftsman, and his bits-and-bolts approach emphasizes precision and visual clarity. It’s always clear where characters are in proximity to each other, with only the occasional shark or cartel gunman popping into the frame to wreak havoc. Johnson pulls from Spielberg by hiding the sharks as much as possible, filming them in quick little peeks — a fin here, a close-up of gaping jaws there. Mandylor, meanwhile, is having an absolute hoot, bringing an unhinged, wildcard energy to the proceedings, and Banderas is aces as a suave, unfailingly polite drug lord ( the kind of guy who will give a genuinely heartfelt apology before dispatching with someone nonetheless). Above and Below is undoubtedly a modest picture — there’s that word again — but one that knows its job and does it with aplomb. The DTV faithful will be pleased, and hopefully any others lucky enough to catch up with this summer cinema pleasure.
DIRECTOR: Jesse V. Johnson; CAST: Antonio Banderas, Laura Marano, Christian Ochoa, Timothy V. Murphy, Diego Llinás; DISTRIBUTOR: Aura Entertainment; IN THEATERS: July 29; RUNTIME: 1 hr. 36 min.
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