Submerged (2016)

(In French, On Cable TV, August 2022) While Submerged does have a cool poster and an intriguing premise, it gets dramatically less interesting as it goes on. Having a bunch of characters stuck in an armoured limo as it plunges into a canal and sinks to the bottom is a great hook—there’s a survival thriller premise that could fuel an entire film. Alas, director Steven C. Miller is stuck with a script that feels obliged to explain in far too much detail the shenanigans and machinations that led to the characters being targeted by bad guys. Nor is he skilled enough on a visual level to effectively portray the claustrophobic nature of the danger. It doesn’t help, of course, that the film easily spends more time outside than in the limo—or that the characters are so incredibly annoying that we keep hoping that a kraken will eat them all. Given this, Submerged ends up a significant waste of a good idea that’s simply too inept to recommend, even for those who like off-beat premises.