[Nicolai P. Zwar]

Devil’s Mouth (Jeff Wadlow, 2026) 5/10

There was once a thriller about a shark that terrorized people. Under the guidance of a young director, it became a masterpiece, a timeless classic with an iconic film score still echoing half a century later. Remember that movie? What was it called again?

There was once another thriller about a shark, one where the creature turned into a Charles‑Bronson‑inspired Death Fish, crossing oceans to avenge its fallen kin. The result was a sequel so bizarre it carved out its own corner of movie history… because it’s forever tied to Michael Caine missing his Oscar ceremony because he was busy filming it.

So here we’ve got a great shark film and a bad shark film in the same series. Why do I mention this? Because sometimes — very often actually I’d say (I’ll get me back to using my em-dashes, %$§! A.I. — a movie is neither great nor bad… just “OK”.

Where does that leave DEVIL’S MOUTH? Squarely there, in the middle. It’s not “great”. It’s not “bad”… It’s pretty “OK” for what it is… it is “average”. It’s well done and up to its ambitions. It doesn’t go beyond it’s ambitions, but it at least reaches them.

It’s a WYSIWYG movie: what you expect to see based on the poster, based on the concept, based on the ads, is exactly what you get to see. No more, no less. A fresh group of young vacationers in Thailand, a notorious tourist spot called Devil’s Mouth, and something lurking in the water. No metaphors, no hidden meanings, no ambitions beyond the poster. The film promises a creature‑feature getaway, and that’s precisely what it delivers. And I was in the mood for it, so I enjoyed it, but of course I’m jaded enough to realize it’s nothing that’s not been done before… sometimes better, sometimes worse.

It’s competently made. Nice kids, glorious locations (really glorious locations… the beginning of the movie makes me want to visit Thailand… the second half of the movie makes me question Thailand as a vacation spot though, because of:), gruesome, bloody attacks, and suspense scenes that do their job. If you are in the mood for that kind of story: sun, beaches, blood, floating body parts, the movie won’t disappoint. If you’re not, the film has nothing else waiting behind the curtain. No double entendres, no side plot, no emotional undercurrent beyond perfunctory bickering. It’s a ride you either board willingly or skip without regret.

Not great. Not bad. Just average. With the typical up-to-date technical competence of Hollywood. Nice score by Bear McCreary, which I already heard upfront.