Sharks have had plenty of airtime in horror/thriller movies, so on some level it’s refreshing when a film points the finger in a different aquatic direction: step (or swim) forward, the killer whale. Unfortunately Ceto, the cetacean villain of the piece, isn’t enough of a presence here to make the film much more than briefly diverting – it never approaches the terror of a serious landmark movie such as Jaws, nor the ridiculous deliciousness of a silly but thrilling movie like Deep Blue Sea. For the most part, it’s actually a relationship drama between two BFFs, albeit two BFFs stranded on a rock in their bikinis and hoping not to be eaten.
Maddie (Virginia Gardner) is introduced as a waitress/cellist with big ambitions for her musical career, until a robbery at her diner robs her of her hearing and also dream man, Chad (Isaac Crawley). A year later, she’s recuperating on a restorative vacay with college friend Trish (Mel Jarnson), a beautiful social media influencer studying gene editing for her PhD. Apparently, killer whale Ceto is something of a touchstone for Maddie and Chad, and Maddie is cross to discover that Trish has planned for Maddie to visit Ceto in captivity at a waterpark. However, after the girls meet Josh (Mitchell Hope) and get drunk, the trio agree to break into the waterpark to say howdy.
