Into The Deep (2025) review – Sharks, pirates, and pure boredom
Into The Deep: Quick Verdict
The Verdict: A tedious, low-budget shark thriller that somehow manages to make pirates, sunken treasure, and man-eating predators boring. Into The Deep squanders a talented Scout Taylor-Compton and a nostalgic Richard Dreyfuss cameo on a threadbare script and laborious pacing. With weak CGI, subpar camera work, and a story that takes far too long to get moving, it’s a punitive viewing experience that sinks to the bottom of the 2025 horror barrel.
Details: Director: Christian Sesma | Cast: Scout Taylor-Compton, Richard Dreyfuss, Stuart Townsend | Runtime: 1h 30m | Release Date: 2025
Best for: People who need background noise while doing literally anything else, or completionists of Scout Taylor-Compton’s filmography.
Worth noting: Richard Dreyfuss appears primarily in flashbacks and during a post-credit segment advocating for shark conservation.
Where to Watch: VOD / Digital Platforms.
Rating: 1.5/5 Stars
(Boring, cheap, repetitive)
Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are taking a look at a shark-themed horror that is new for 2025 – Into The Deep.
Highlights
It’s Not Looking Good
This movie follows the story of a group of tourists on a diving expedition being kidnapped by modern-day pirates, and forced to dive for booty in shark-infested waters. Yes… really. That is the plot.
“It’s not that Scout Taylor-Compton is a bad actor. She’s actually pretty damn great. It’s just that she frequently seems to sign on to star in absolutely awful horror flicks.”
Into The Deep has all the hallmarks of a movie that is going to be complete arse-wash. Sharks, a low budget, and a starring role for Scout Taylor-Compton. Now, it’s not that Scout Taylor-Compton is a bad actor. She’s, actually pretty damn great. It’s just that she frequently seems to sign on to star in absolutely awful horror flicks. Into The Deep is no exception.
This movie is actually kind of tough to review because I mentally checked out early on. The promise of bikinis, sharks, and pirates sounds like a good time, but Into The Deep manages to find a way to make it an, almost, punitive experience. Punishing you for every second that you stick with it rather than wandering off to do something else.
Worse than bad… It’s boringly bad
One thing worse than simply being bad, when it comes to horror, is to be bad and boring. A lot of awful horror movies get a pass thanks to being fun. That is not the case with Into The Deep. Director Christian Sesma has managed to turn this into an absolute chore from start to finish.
It becomes clear, very early on, that the plot is threadbare. In reality, the movie should have started with the pirates forcing the tourists to dive for treasure. As it stands, it starts with some pointless character building and world developing.
“One thing worse than simply being bad is to be bad and boring. Into The Deep is an absolute chore from start to finish.”
The big problem there is: who cares? Who cares about this world and these characters? They are unimportant, in the grand scheme of things. Let’s get to diving for booty. We can all sympathise with the situation the characters find themselves in. Most humans display, at least, basic levels of empathy, so we don’t need to relate, personally, to the people in this predicament.
I can’t shake the feeling that the majority of these scenes are only there to shoehorn in shark movie legend Richard Dreyfuss. He appears in Into The Deep as a character in flashbacks who chews more scenery than the sharks themselves, also appearing in the credits to talk about sharks. Seems like a pretty interesting idea to advocate for sharks in a movie that depicts them as ruthless, evil killing machines.
Just so little to praise
Needless to say, there are few moments where Into The Deep shines. Dialogue is particularly weak, with some of the interactions between the pirates and the tourists feeling hilariously stupid thanks to a very poor script.
“Into The Deep manages to find a way to make it an, almost, punitive experience. Punishing you for every second that you stick with it.”
Outside of Taylor-Compton’s Cassidy who, at least, has some semblance of a personality, most of the other characters are so bland as to be completely forgettable. The only other person who stood out was purely due to the fact that she spent the entire movie with her naked arse planted right in the centre of the shot.
Special effects are extremely weak, something that you come to expect from these types of movies. Shark attack scenes feature a stark disconnect between the thing doing the attacking and the person being attacked. It all looks rather cheap and a bit strange. Pacing is incredibly laborious, making the 90-minute runtime feel even longer than it already is. The story is absolutely packed full of low points, with barely a single scene that genuinely grips you. And the camera work is a bit of a travesty, if I am being honest. How do you shoot in a beautiful location and not indulge in the scenery?
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The Good
- Scout Taylor-Compton: As always, she gives a solid performance and remains the only reason to even consider watching this.
- Richard Dreyfuss: A nice piece of nostalgia for Jaws fans, even if his role is minor and largely used for padding.
The Bad
- The Pacing: Glacial. For a 90-minute movie, it feels like an absolute eternity before anything significant happens.
- The CGI: The sharks look incredibly cheap, and the interaction between the predators and the actors is hilariously disjointed.
- The Script: Weak dialogue and a threadbare plot make the interpersonal drama feel like pointless filler.
The Ugly: The Boredom. In a genre that thrives on tension and fun, Into The Deep manages to be an exhausting, monotonous trudge.
Should You Watch Into The Deep?
No. Even if you love bad shark movies, this one is too dull to even qualify as “so bad it’s good.” It’s an early contender for the worst horror movie of 2025. Save your time and re-watch Jaws instead.
Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight
Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.
A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.
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