out of 10
The short version
Undertow Hours In cinemas
Undertow Hours is a controlled, confident thriller with a terrific lead performance. The final act stumbles slightly, but it rarely lets go of you.
Best for thriller fans who like their stories tight
What we like
- Gripping lead performance
- Superb use of sound and darkness
- Lean 98-minute runtime
Keep in mind
- Final twist is guessable
- Supporting characters are thin
Key specs
- Runtime
- 1 hour 38 minutes
- Genre
- Thriller
- Rating
- 15
- Release
- In cinemas now
Undertow Hours takes place over a single night on an empty stretch of coast. A veteran lifeguard is closing up when a teenager reports that her brother went into the water and has not come back. The coastguard is an hour away. The tide is turning.
Tension built from silence
The film’s greatest weapon is restraint. Long stretches pass with nothing but wind, surf and a torch beam cutting across dark water. The sound design is exceptional, and the decision to keep the camera on the shoreline for most of the film makes every glimpse of the sea feel dangerous.
A performance that carries it
The lead gives a precise, lived-in performance as a man who has done this job for too long and knows exactly what the odds are. The film leans on that performance heavily, and it holds.
Where it falters
The final act introduces a revelation that attentive viewers will see coming, and the supporting cast is sketched rather than drawn. Still, at 98 minutes, the film never outstays its welcome.
Final verdict
Tight, tense and worth the ticket
Undertow Hours proves a thriller does not need scale to grip you. See it on the biggest screen with the loudest speakers you can find.
