Tense Swim (The Shallows, 2016)

I confess, I saw the trailers and thought this would be a pretty standard survival flick.  Instead, what I discovered was a very tense thriller of woman versus nature.

Blake Lively is Nancy…a young woman grieving the loss of her mother.  She has discovered a remote beach and is there to surf.  Late in the day, she follows some dolphins and discovers a dead whale.  After a large great white shark attack, Nancy finds herself trapped on a rock.  The shark seems determined to make Nancy a meal, and she struggles to find a way to survive.

Director Jaume Collet-Serra has brought us an intense story that does not often give you time to breathe as Nancy tries to find a way to outsmart the shark.  When you consider a large chunk of the film is Lively sitting on a rock, it is pretty impressive that they are able to keep the audience on their toes.

This film was a very good surprise.