There’s no conflict more classic than that between a man and a whale. Since Jonah spent three days in the belly of a whale, the giant sea creature has remained a staple of literature — Captain Ahab was driven mad by one; Pinocchio saves his family from one. So it’s kind of astonishing that it’s taken so long for Hollywood to make a survival thriller about a whale. Perhaps it’s because it feels too absurd a premise to turn into a feature film, or because whales generally have better PR than, say, sharks. But Whalefall, a taut, painfully tense, and surprisingly goopy new thriller from No One Will Save You director Brian Duffield, delivers a terrifically entertaining whale survival thriller that puts a fun B-movie twist on the Biblical fable.
The secret to Whalefall’s success — apart from an admirably effective script by Daniel Krauss, who wrote the 2023 novel the film adapts — is leading man Austin Abrams. As the sole human onscreen for most of its runtime, the movie lives or dies by Abrams’ performance, which he has to deliver while entirely covered in some kind of viscous substance, or with his face hidden behind goggles or a breathing apparatus. It’s a huge challenge for the most talented actor, but Abrams has nailed the particular blend of hammy over-the-top reactions and grounded empathy that this kind of film requires — and which similarly made Bruce Campbell the B-movie star of his generation. With the one-two punch of Whalefall and his breakout role in Resident Evil, Abrams has cornered the market on the beleaguered everyday man who finds himself in a Situation. And as young scuba diver Jay Gardiner in Whalefall, he gets put in the worst situation of them all.
