“The Devil’s Mouth” Review
Director: Jeff Wadlow Screenwriter: Aja Gabel, Myung Joh Wesner Cast: Kathryn Newton, Lana Condor, Gavin Casalegno, Nico Hiraga, Tommi Rose, Tayme Thapthimthong Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios Running Time: 104 min. MPAA: PG-13
Shark movies have come a long way from the lackluster imitators of Jaws to the cheap absurdity of Sharknado. Within this long legacy of creature features, The Devil’s Mouth exists somewhere in the middle, rooted in the compelling idea of people trapped in a cave with a shark preventing their escape. The setting is sound, but the slasher victims tossed into this enclosed space have all the appeal of a bucket of chum.
As with many slasher creature features, the story follows a group of college friends on vacation. Arriving in Thailand, there’s not much to the batch of young folk, as their travel goals don’t extend beyond exploring some wet locations and getting drunk. There isn’t much drama going on aside from the clever Sara (Kathryn Newton) being bittered by the more domineering Max (Lana Condor). Sara is right to be furious when she is left behind at one point to be stung by many jellyfish. But Sara charges on, figuring she doesn’t want to ruin a vacation. The chomped turtle that washes up on the beach might be a bad omen, but that won’t stop them from heading back out into the water.
The group is drawn to exploring a cave known for its mouth-like formation, making for some great photos they can post on social media. Everything seems to be going fine with a friendly and knowledgeable guide of the area, informing them there are few dangers in the waters of the caves. The most dangerous element seems to be the fragility of the cave, which could trap them in a cave-in if there’s too much agitation. But then the confident guide gets spooked by something in the water. A bull shark has wandered into the caves. That animal shouldn’t be here, but it is, and now it’s looking to munch some humans in this enclosed space.
The film never dives confidently into the campy waters of superior stupid shark movies like The Meg when it really should. With its PG-13 fatalities and bland characters boasting empty heads on top of gorgeous bodies, there’s not much room for absurdity or even a little tongue-in-cheek ridiculousness. Everything is played up far too earnestly for characters whose only quirks include liking Finding Nemo and texting their parents. There’s not even much of any drunk and/or antics among these party people to appreciate their brashness. The characters might be on vacation, but the actors are treating this like a strict job where they read their lines and let themselves get gobbled by the CGI shark.
The Devil’s Mouth fuses creature feature and survival horror into a passive picture more routine than thrilling. So much of the script is centered on the mere escape from the cave and outsmarting of the shark that it’d likely be more entertaining as a video game than a movie. By the time the final girl has escaped the cave and the shark, she lets out a victory scream. She won. Did the audience? Well, they likely deserve an achievement trophy for having sat through a mundane shark movie.
