Xavier Gens, who is known as one of the most promising directors in France and thanks to his brilliant debut film Frontier(s) has gained a lot of popularity among the fans of horror films (though for some reason I did not like this film at all, because I think it was just too bloody), is now back with another release “Under Paris” which is already on top of Netflix charts. This fiercely stupid movie even seems to have been made under the influence of Spielberg’s Jaws, before turning into something both completely sharknado like in its batshit crazy ending that will probably be what this movie is remembered best by.
However much Gens tries to balance it with Sharknado and retains ridiculousness in most parts of Under Paris, its CGI effects look so bad that you can see through their overdone-ness easily; however, if you are looking to waste time during summer when school’s out “Under Paris” would be an average selection for a Netflix movie that gets started, goes into action and finishes fast enough to set up a sequel that will certainly be more absurd than this one but in a good way.
All the producer needs sometimes is one catchy line, there are sharks in the Seine. Go! And that’s about where Under Paris begins showing us exactly such a dumpsite off Pacific waters (apparently true), introduces us to Sofia Asalas (Berenice Bejo from The Artist and The Past whose performance makes her character far more significant despite being almost insignificant in significance), a marine biologist who’s after Lilith a mako shark. After she attempts taking blood sample from her husband, he succumbs to an attack by the shark leading our heroine through personal trauma related journey.
It turns out that three years later she works as an aquarist in Paris when she finds out Lilith is alive and swimming happily down Seine River right through central Paris the same Seine River that is soon to become the site of a triathlon because why not. The upcoming event also sort of gives “Under Paris” a little taste of Jaws as Sophia and her team realize there is danger lurking beneath the water but again, the Mayor (Anne Marivin) simply refuses to take precautionary measures against any loss of life or shark’s appetite for more. Adil (charismatic Nassim Lyes who also starred in Gens’ last film “Mayhem!”) is caught between Sofia and the mayor in this tug-of-war and it’s easy to predict what his final decision will be just like all movie heroes he’ll be talked into helping Sofia stop inevitable watery bloodshed in time.
Gens and co-writers four are credited, which sometimes feels like too many cooks in this kitchen take a while to get things rolling but when they do, it all comes together well. Although Gens obviously teases with final scenes of Under Paris about how graphic they are going to be, he takes us through several moments that anyone who has ever dedicated time around Shark Week or seen each installment ever made for Jaws should watch. It’s mad to think about and concludes with sequences that remind you more of Roland Emmerich than Steven Spielberg does.
There is a “Under Paris” version that is smarter than this (and a little tighter in the editing department), but this sort of no-nonsense genre picture seems like ideal Netflix fare with its simplicity. It’s Jaws in the Seine. There is something nearly endearing about its inclinations to be a hammer where many movies overburden or stretch their narrative. “Under Paris” does have some environmental messaging and political games that kill people, although it’s mostly just about sharks killing swimmers. And that works in any language.
Watch Under Paris For Free On Putlocker.