[Nerdspresso] Killer Sharks Take a Bite Out of French Movies with "Under Paris"

When I think of French movies, I think of Jean-Luc Goddard, Francois Truffaut, kids with red balloons, guys named Jules and Jim and that girl Amelie with an impish grin. I don’t envision killer sharks cruising the River Seine. Under Paris has subverted all my my preconceptions about French cinema. It’s not all kissing in the rain and smoking cigarettes. They can be hardcore, too, y’all!

Under Paris is a thriller that recently dropped on Netflix with the improbable, but awesome, premise of sharks taking up residence in the catacombs below Paris and munching on residents like they’re baguettes. It’s a bonkers idea and the filmmakers totally commit to it. This isn’t some winking smirkfest like Sharknado. It’s a legit nailbiter. Jaws with accents and fancy cheese.

Despite how ridiculous it may sound, you’ll totally be along for the ride. This crew commits. The movie starts with a boatload of marine biologists exploring the “Pacific Garbage Patch,” which is an actual gigantic mass of floating garbage out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. That’s disturbingly sad to think about in real life but it makes a great film location. This trash island looks completely unnatural but also authentic. The scenes filmed under the garbage are fascinating and disturbing. You think the divers are exploring a forest of seaweed, but it’s plastic bags, old 2-liters and fishing nets.

The researchers have previously tagged a shiver of sharks (that’s what they’re called, look it up) and are tracking them to see how they are adapting to pollution and climate change. Their beacons say the sharks are nearby so our crew takes a dip to find them. After some exploring, the sharks begin to emerge from the mess and begin to circle the divers. You know they’re CGI, but you still get the chills seeing the sharks come cruising.

The big discovery here is that a baby shark they tagged a year ago and named Lilith has now grown to a massively disconcerting size. When one diver tries to get a blood sample, it ticks Lilith off and the divers get trapped in a feeding frenzy. Back on the boat, head researcher Sophia sees the carnage through the cameras mounted on their wetsuits and dives into the water to assist.

Before you question her judgment, let me note that her husband is part of the diving party, she’s the leader of the operation, and…oh yeah, she’s the movie’s heroine so she’s got to do something. Sophia quickly realizes that all her chums are now chum as she comes nose to snout with Lilith. She barely escapes with her life and this all happens before the opening credits roll. Dudes, this flick is intense.

Now we jump forward three years and Sophia is nursing her PTSD by working in a Paris aquarium. She’s approached by Mika, a young conservationist, who has been tracking tagged sharks on the side. She has been getting signals from Lilith’s beacon but it’s no longer coming from the Pacific. It’s now beeping from deep within the city of Paris. Mika wants Sophia to join in for an expedition into the Seine, but she is suddenly recruited by the police to review the body of a homeless man that was found chewed up in the river. Guess what, it’s no boat accident!

Jaws has its DNA all over this movie, from ominous shots of giant fins lurking in the background to the mayor who refuses to acknowledge the problem. You see, Paris is hosting a big triathlon as a precursor to the Olympics and she doesn’t want to look bad in front of the world press or miss out on all that fat tourist cash. All this mayor is missing is a cool baby blue blazer with anchors on it.

Sophia and the cops now have to track down the sharks on their own while Mika and her cronies have the big idea that they can find the sharks first and lead them back out into open water. Oh, those silly shark hugging hippies! Mika and her pals have tracked the sharks to the Paris catacombs and plan to use sonar to lure them to safety. Sophia gets wind of this plan and brings the cops with her to trap the sharks.

The scenes in the catacombs are masterfully done. The filmmakers take advantage of the claustrophobic gothic surroundings to really goose the tension. The cops are all wading waist deep through the tunnels and you just know something is about to happen. It calls to mind that bit in Aliens when the sensors are bleeping about the xenomorphs getting closer and closer. When the sharks do arrive, however, it’s not a threatening surprise. So now you’re all confused. Should we be siding with the conservationists and not the cops?

But then you remember that you’re watching a killer shark movie and everything goes crazy insane. Chaotically cut together with intense close ups, underwater photography, and wide shots of panicked crowds trying to escape, the filmmakers heighten the fear factor, playing off your imagination. They scare you more with what they don’t show than what they do (Hat tip again to Jaws). This movie really excels with these underwater scenes.

There are multiple bits of divers going into the Seine to investigate and you can barely see them amidst all the sediment and garbage floating around. The Seine is notoriously polluted, which adds a creepy aura as divers navigate the murky depths amidst abandoned bicycles, old furniture and submerged cars. Your paranoia overtakes you with every menacing silhouette shimmering in the background. It’s superbly atmospheric.

With the triathlon just hours away, Sophia and the cops determine that Lilith and the other sharks are nesting in the catacombs. If they don’t stop them soon, they’ll swarm the river, wreaking havoc throughout the city and beyond. They must return to the catacombs with explosives to trap the sharks inside. Sophia now has to face her fears and lead another crew on a dangerous underwater mission. Berenice Bejo, an Oscar nominee for her work in The Artist, plays Sophia with some heavy Sigourney Weaver in Aliens energy in these moments.

The scenes in the catacombs are masterfully sinister, making the most of the cramped spaces and ancient tunnels littered with old bones and skulls. Under Paris gets props for taking a classic b-movie trope (killer sharks in this instance) and juicing it up with unique locales. The mashup of urban Paris with the underwater scenes of sharky mayhem is totally next level. In lesser hands, this movie would have come off as shlocky, but this production is tres magnifique!

A word of advice: definitely watch it in the original French with English subtitles. It’s worth it. As shark movies go, Under Paris is no Jaws, but it certainly swims in the same waters as Deep Blue Sea or The Shallows (where Blake Lively’s surfer girl takes on a hungry Great White). It is quite akin to that 1999 Sam Jackson movie in that both flicks go over the top without getting ridiculous as they deliver the pure sharky goodness.

Under Paris is just a good time for any fan of flicks featuring big toothy fish. And you can feel all cultured at the same time because it’s a foreign film! Order some French takeout (is there such a thing? Okay, maybe just get some French Fries) and enjoy.

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