I’ve made no secret of my love of shark movies. They don’t even have to be that good overall. I mean, I have watched all six Sharknado movies, and I’m still unsure why. Since my dad showed me Steven Spielberg’s seminal masterpiece Jaws, my love of shark movies was born. It’s also where my deep-rooted fear of the ocean (specifically, the horrors it’s home to underneath the glassy surface) was forged.

Directed by Hayley Easton Street, Something in the Water has a gloriously game title, and the poster suggests we could be in for some self-aware creature feature shenanigans. I’m willing to wager that the line “there’s something in the water” has been uttered in every shark or water-based horror movie.

However, a stark opening sequence sees a young couple, Meg (surely a nod to the Jason Statham flick) and Kayla, become the victims of a hate crime. Meg is badly beaten, and Kayla can only watch on in horror. Cut to a year later, and they’re no longer together, but a reunion is forced for their friend Lizzie’s upcoming destination wedding in the West Indies.

Unlike at least 90% of its shark movie contemporaries, everything here is sun-kissed and bright. Director of Photography Niels Reedtz Johansen has done an excellent job making everything look vibrant. I have lost count of the volume of shark movies I’ve seen where everything is dark and murky. Usually, it’s to help hide the modest special effects budget. So, it’s genuinely refreshing to see some considerable effort to make this look sharp.

Make no mistake—this is a survival movie first, a drama second, and a shark movie third. There’s not a whole lot of shark on display, not in a sparing way like Jaws, just chunks of the movie where there’s no threat from the shark. That’s not to say the storm they endure, at night, in the middle of the ocean, is free from danger. As a ‘survive the elements movie’, Something in the Water is relentlessly effective as the bonds of friendship are tested. As a side effect, this film has forever put me off attending a destination wedding. The odds off me being asked are slim, but in that event I know have an iron-clad reason to not attend.

An enjoyable female-driven spin on the genre, it features plenty of stunning scenery, an impressive cast, and a few gruesome moments. However, with minimal shark action and a plot that struggles to fill the 86 minutes, it’s best experienced by those unfamiliar with the vast shark movie genre.

Something in the Water is available to rent or buy on Digital and is released on DVD & Blu-ray on September 9th.