Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

The Requin Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 24, 2022

It's maybe just a little sad or hilarious, depending on your point of view, that The Requin utilizes key art that so clearly identifies the film as a Jaws wannabe. There is a marauding shark (and/or sharks) at play in The Requin, a film whose very (relatively unutilized) term refers to a family of sharks with the official name of Carcharhinidae, but it takes a good, long while for it and/or them to actually enter into the story. Instead, the marketing mavens behind promoting this film might have just as easily co-opted key art from The Impossible, the 2012 opus with Naomi Watts which depicted the horrifying after effects of a tsunami, since the story here follows somewhat the same storm tossed seas, with a couple finding themselves stranded in the ocean after their overwater bungalow drifts into open waters after a violent squall.

The film actually begins with a rather stylish opening scene which seems to almost be a view of some kind of monster emanating from a misty seascape. It utlimately turns out to be something quite different which won't be spoiled here, other than to say it provides an immediate introduction to some traumatic backstory involving couple Jaelyn (Alicia Silverstone) and Kyle (James Tupper). The two have come to Vietnam to help them heal over this incident (one which recurs via flashbacks throughout the story), and for a while at least, it seems that maybe they will be able to heal, though Jaelyn at times seems more intent on checking social media updates or video chatting with various people than actually paying attention to Kyle.

Things quickly go from scenic to tragic when a violent storm erupts and the bungalow the two have been staying in is swept out to sea. The film has already documented the perhaps tenuous emotional equilibrium between these two characters, and there are some moments in the early going that attempt to ply this fertile territory, to varying effect. Things give way to more of a traditional survival tinged with horror aspect when a gruesome leg injury suffered by Kyle becomes bait for sharks after the pair's perhaps comical attempts to attract a rescue party with a fire ends in disaster, catapulting them both into open water.

From there things go from bad to worse, and without detailing the litany of horrors Jaelyn at least has to endure, suffice it to say that the mere castaways on Gilligan's Island or in fact Cast Away itself might consider themselves lucky, if only because they had dry land beneath their feet. In that regard, it ends up being a bit of overkill (in more ways than one) late in the film when Jaelyn seems to have found safety, only of course (in true horror film fashion) to be threatened again.

The Requin is best when it tries at least to dissect the relationship between two long married people who have had some significant suffering enter their lives. But the writing here is often hackneyed, and the film is probably not helped by some almost laugh out loud shoddily done composites and other "special effects". While it's fun to see Silverstone in a more mature, ostensibly nuanced, role, I have to wonder if writer and director Le-Van Kiet encouraged her to play to the veritable second balcony, or whatever the ocean equivalent of that might be, since her reactions to various incidents may again provoke more laughter than anything.

The Requin Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Requin is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. There's no real technical data of any kind offered on "usual suspect" sites like IMDb, but I was able to find this rather interesting interview with the film's director of photography Matt S. Bell, who discloses both the camera (Arri Alexa Mini) as well as lens information and other salient data points (I highly recommend the interview for those interested in this sort of background information). Unfortunately, Bell's mention of a very short pre-production and production time may help to explain why some of the VFX in this film are not exactly fantastic looking. A lot of the presentation has a "green screen softness" to it in terms of backgrounds, and some of the compositing just struck me as unbelievably fake looking (a quick perusal of some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review may help to show this situation). In actual practical moments, as in a kind of quasi-montage early in the film that sees Jaelyn and Kyle pre-storm out and about cavorting, look great and feature a nicely robust palette and typically excellent detail levels. So much of the later part of the film is VFX laden, though, that the whole thing comes of as unavoidably artificial looking, which obviously detracts from any visceral feeling of immediate danger. Even some of the supposed "non showy" water effects which purportedly offer only a vista of open seas look like they were done in some elementary video version of Photoshop. There are a few passing moments of banding in some of the underwater material that takes place in the latter part of the film in particular.

The Requin Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Requin features a generally nicely immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The storm sequence offers probably the showiest surround activity, with some nice panning effects as winds and torrential rainfall buffet the pair's bungalow. A lot of the later part of the film typically has the wash of background water sounds spilling through the side and rear channels. Composer Jean-Paul Wall forsakes the famous half step motif that made John Williams' score for Jaws so memorable in favor of long, languid minor ninths that spread quite nicely through the surround channels. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Requin Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Writer / Director Le-Van Kiet


• Making The Requin (HD; 9:23) is a standard issue EPK with interviews and scenes from the film.

Additionally a digital copy is included and packaging features a slipcover.

The Requin Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Requin may provide some interest for Silverstone fans in particular, since she is front and center the entire way through this film. That said, I'm not sure she comes off as completely believable in some scenes, though it's undeniably fun to see her attack a CGI shark with what amounts to a weed whacker late in the film (it's actually the propeller blades of a boat motor). There's an almost gruesome and graphic element that recurs throughout the film (there are a number of pretty hideous foot and/or leg injuries depicted), and it seems like a tonal disconnect to see survivor Jaelyn cheery as all get out as the film comes to a close, at least when considering what she's just been through. Technical merits are generally fine, though video encounters a few hurdles along the way, for those who may be considering making a purchase.