Movies like Sharknado and The Meg have given the muses that once inspired a masterpiece like Jaws such a bad rep in recent years that even Stephen King was wary of giving Netflix’s new addition to the shark genre a try.
The author, whose writing is behind some of the greatest cinematic achievements in the medium’s history, often shares his latest favorites on his X account, praising and recommending films and television that he particularly enjoyed (or didn’t). It seems he was not alone in his shark film prejudice, seeing as plenty of people replied to his words of approval for this Netflix hit with a similar sentiment.
“Didn’t expect Sharknado but certainly one of Sci Fi’s weekend shark movies. I was pleasantly surprised on it having a strong plot. Still had some SciFi moments and characters…like the mayor, but I enjoyed it. [sic],” one user replied.
“Twitter convinced me to give it a watch”
Stephen King thought Under Paris ⏤ the French action-horror disaster film about a giant shark invading the Seine ⏤ was “really quite good,” especially those last 25 minutes. The 76-year-old and his followers might have been hesitant about it, but the 40 million people who watched Under Paris during its debut week and took it to the top of the charts were convinced from the jump. After all, there’s a reason these apex predator movies continue to get made.
The Netflix film was directed by Xavier Gens and, despite a humble budget of approximately $21 million, spares no expenses in the entertainment department. It imagines an ecosystem so polluted that sharks begin evolving into unkillable creatures that can adapt to salt water and take revenge on the humans who have disturbed their homes.
What’s more, Under Paris‘ Olympic Games setting, wherein the shark eats all the athletes competing in the triathlon, is incredibly fitting given the event happening in the French capital this summer. We just hope none of the real Olympians swimming the Seine this summer get performance anxiety from this.
Published: Jun 18, 2024 01:18 pm