47 Meters Down: Uncaged 2019 * * * Stars

Director: Johannes Roberts
Year: 2019
Rated PG-13
Rating: * * * Stars
Cast: Corinne Fox, Brianne Tju, John Corbett

Four spunky girls with curiosity and diving gear in tote, venture into some underwater caves only to be confronted by nasty great white sharks. Oh and they are trapped with their air supply literally dwindling down to nothing. That's the gist of the numbing, relentless, and unfaltering, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged.

"Uncaged", with its grainy, mid-70s waterlogged look and its stinging musical score courtesy of tomandandy (a musical duo from NYC), is a solid refresher of every Jaws re-imagining imaginable. Yup, it's a wet nightmare that gets you right in the central nervous system.

As good as any sequel in the last 5-10 years and made to actually horrify you, "Uncaged" ain't just another flick about fish with pectoral fins. The Meg, Deep Blue Sea, and the disastrous Shark Night take those trophies.

47 Meters Down: Uncaged is distributed by Entertainment Studios and directed by 43-year-old Brit Johannes Roberts. The acting in "Uncaged" starts out as a little campy, a little high school, and a little amateurish. Then when the actresses have to emote and exhibit some rolled out fear, everyone seems to hit just the right notes (look for Sylvester Stallone's daughter Sistine Stallone in a girly girl supporting role).

Sly offspring and scream queens aside, helmer Roberts pounds the viewer over the head with non-stop vigor and shark jump scares that are better than the ordinary (I flew out of my seat twice). Because virtually every scene is filmed underwater, you can't always tell what's going on. Maybe that's the point.

"Uncaged" is The Descent with threshers. It's 2019's Crawl with tiger shark drawl. It's that rare sequel that actually surpasses the original 47 Meters Down. Oh and you'll never hear The Carpenters ditty "We've Only Just Begin" the same way after you see this movie. Rating: 3 stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson