The Devil's Mouth (2026)

Directed by Jeff Wadlow (Truth or Dare, Fantasy Island) under the Amazon MGM Studios banner, this creature-feature sharkathon is littered with young B-movie actors and actresses who are generally annoying - irritating pretty much anyone likely to spend an evening digesting this tripe! The most annoying of the lot was Max, played by Lana Condor, of whom she later said that she played the character as written. She mentioned that Max was supposed to be an overbearing, controlling friend whose toxic dynamic with Sara collapses under pressure. So I guess that’s good acting, then - and the irritation actually lies with the writer(s)!

If there is a saving grace in terms of a reduction in annoyance, it probably lies with Kathryn Newton (Freaky, Abigail), who plays Max’s friend Sara. She’s clearly the best actress here (though don't get too excited, as the bar is set exceptionally low)! Nico Hiraga (James, Max's boyfriend), Tommi Rose (Adrienne), Gavin Casalegno (Greg) and Tayme Thapthimthong (Wat) make up the rest of the troupe.

The first thing to say is that you really, really can skip the first 30 minutes of this film (unless you want to look at babes in bikinis and muscular young men for kicks). We get a group of five American college grads controlled by the aforementioned bossy Max and her submissive friend Sara (who has paid for the trip for everyone). One exception to the "skip-the-first-half-hour" rule is a scene in which one of them gets attacked by jellyfish and left behind to suffer as the boat speeds off - only for it to be ruthlessly edited to her suddenly being rescued and back in the group!

Local diver Wat warns them about a recent storm surge that has disrupted the waterways, but brave (at this stage) Max insists the group venture into 'The Devil's Mouth' - a flooded, unmapped subterranean cave network. Under-equipped and wearing little more than swimwear, the group heads deep into the dark tunnels. Once deep inside the claustrophobic chambers, the group discovers that the recent storm washed marine wildlife inland. While most saltwater life died off, a massive, highly aggressive bull shark survived and claims the freshwater cavern as its hunting ground!

Panic quickly erupts as the shark starts eating them (or parts of them) one by one while they try to regroup and work out an escape route. As oxygen runs low and daylight fades, the surviving members of the group are forced into narrow, flooded squeeze-tunnels to find a way out. Wedged, trapped, and relying on Sara's newfound level-headedness, adventure, scares and potential drownings set the tone for much of the rest of the film as she leads the attempt to escape the attention of the shark. I'll leave you to discover who (if anyone) survives and what happens (if anything) to the shark!

The real star of the film is the subterranean setting, with its claustrophobic tunnels and fairly well-done fake rock sets - generating far more tension than the poorly rendered CGI shark. The film gives plenty of nods to The Descent, 47 Meters Down Jaws (though it feels like an embarrassment to mention that fine work in the company of this), and more. It's been done so many times before - often very similarly.

This is certainly a 'Friday night after the pub' film where you can chat with your mates while it plays. No real attention is needed; just look over during the action-based parts and the gore (of which there isn't much, keeping the age rating down for a broader audience). For the kind of film it is, I guess it could have been worse - just not by much! Whatever you do, don't pay extra to watch it - wait until it's streaming as included on Prime Video if you fancy the challenge (and/or have had enough Friday beers)!