The Shallows

Li Qiang is a scientist who loves extreme sports, and he takes his adrenaline habit out to the open ocean where the water is as unforgiving as the sky. When a top predator starts stalking his group, what begins as a daring expedition becomes a raw survival situation. As storms gather above, the team scrambles to outthink an animal that seems engineered to hunt, while internal tensions and scarce resources raise the stakes. The story stays tight on close calls and the crew's strained decisions, keeping surprises for the film's later moments rather than giving everything away up front.

Released in 2025, The Shallows was directed by Xia Banchang and features Chen Xiaoyun, Wang Sen, Ding Wenbo, William Yang, and Peng Biyao, blending elements of adventure, horror and science fiction in a high-seas setting.

Box office figures for The Shallows aren't widely reported. The movie appears to have had a relatively limited theatrical presence, with no major commercial breakout noted in available sources.

The movie currently holds a 4.0/10 vote average from five votes, reflecting a mixed to negative response among that small sample. Critics and viewers have pointed to strong set pieces and tense moments, while criticizing shallow character development and some pacing issues. The narrative raises questions about human risk-taking, scientific curiosity pushed too far, and the moral cost of treating nature as a sport. Performances get uneven notes, but the film clearly aims for an unsettling mood over deep emotional arcs.

Among genre fans the film has provoked niche discussion for its visual choices and the way it mixes sci fi ideas with survival horror tropes. A few scenes have been highlighted online for effective underwater staging and sound design. While it hasn't become a mainstream touchstone, The Shallows has found a modest audience that appreciates its willingness to lean into suspense and creature-driven danger.