Who doesn’t enjoy a big-budget shark movie during the summer? That was seemingly the question Amazon MGM asked before greenlighting The Devil’s Mouth, the latest entry in what has already become an overcrowded year for shark-attack films—and somehow, there are still more on the way.
I was genuinely excited for this one. A higher-profile cast led by Kathryn Newton immediately caught my attention, especially considering how quickly she’s cementing herself as one of horror’s most reliable modern scream queens. Whether it’s Freaky or Abigail, Newton has consistently proven she possesses the charisma, comedic timing, and natural screen presence to elevate almost any material. She was easily the biggest reason The Devil’s Mouth landed near the top of my watchlist.
The problem is that even Kathryn Newton can’t save a film when she’s surrounded by some of the most irritating and painfully underwritten characters I’ve seen all year.
The Devil’s Mouth isn’t terrible. It’s also far from good. That’s ultimately what makes it so frustrating. I’ve been hoping to see Jeff Wadlow return with a genuinely strong horror film because I still believe Cry Wolf remains one of the genre’s most underrated studio releases. Unfortunately, his recent output has been defined by lower than average, with Fantasy Island standing out as a particularly forgettable low point.
Wadlow is a capable filmmaker, and there are moments where his craftsmanship shines through. Visually, the film has scale, and the concept of exploring an isolated, pitch-black underwater environment creates an atmosphere filled with tension and possibility. As someone who absolutely loves The Descent, I appreciated the film’s attempt to tap into that same claustrophobic sense of dread. Sadly, it never evolves beyond feeling like pure shark bait.
The biggest issue is how aggressively familiar everything feels. The film offers nothing new to the shark-horror formula, relying instead on paper-thin characters who make one nonsensical decision after another. By the time the first major attack finally arrives—more than 40 minutes into the film—I found myself wishing the shark had shown up much sooner.
Instead, we’re forced to spend nearly half the runtime with a group of characters who are difficult to invest in. Their friendships feel artificial, their conflicts are recycled, and their personalities rarely extend beyond familiar genre stereotypes.
Lana Condor fares the worst. She’s an actress I’ve always enjoyed watching, but here she’s saddled with an insufferable character whose selfish behavior quickly becomes exhausting. Rather than giving her a meaningful arc or any form of redemption, the script simply leaves her feeling one-dimensional from beginning to end.
The supporting cast—including Nico Hiraga, Gavin Casalegno, and Tommi Rose—also struggles to leave any lasting impression. While I appreciate the decision to cast younger, fresh faces, the screenplay gives them little to do beyond following Kate into one ridiculous decision after another. None of them are developed enough for the audience to genuinely care whether they survive, making the film’s suspense feel largely weightless.
As for the film’s superpowered shark, The Devil’s Mouth eventually embraces the kind of over-the-top absurdity you’d expect from a Sharknado sequel. Yes, bull sharks are incredibly dangerous. They’re highly territorial, aggressive, and one of the few shark species capable of surviving in both saltwater and freshwater. But this particular shark is less an animal than an unstoppable killing machine.
The film repeatedly establishes that these underwater caves are littered with razor-sharp rock formations, yet this massive predator barrels through them without so much as a scratch. It launches itself out of the water, crashes through obstacles, and shrugs off everything in its path as if it were an indestructible movie monster rather than a real creature. Once the film reaches that point, any sense of grounded survival horror disappears, replaced by increasingly ridiculous set pieces that ask far too much of the audience’s suspension of disbelief.
The kills aren’t particularly memorable either. The lack of suspense leading up to each attack, combined with the film’s PG-13 rating, strips away one of the few elements that could have compensated for its uninspired story. Even then, The Devil’s Mouth fails to deliver satisfying thrills.
Perhaps the biggest problem is that the characters never seem fully aware of the danger they’re in. Time and time again, they react to gruesome deaths with surprising indifference, barely taking a moment to process the fact that one of their friends has just been violently devoured by a massive shark. Without genuine fear or emotional weight, every subsequent attack feels increasingly hollow, making it difficult for the audience to invest in who lives or dies.
I’m not asking shark movies to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes all I want is an entertaining, unapologetically fun creature feature that fully embraces its premise. Unfortunately, The Devil’s Mouth never reaches that level.
With such a striking setting, a talented young cast, an experienced director, and the backing of a major studio, all the ingredients were there for an exciting summer thriller. Instead, it’s a frustrating reminder of how much potential can be wasted when the screenplay fails to give its characters, suspense, and ideas the attention they deserve. This could have been a genuinely thrilling addition to the shark genre. Instead, it ends up feeling like another forgettable entry in an already overcrowded sea of average creature feature films.
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