Recently, Netflix’s original films have been causing a stir, although they usually generate less hype than the streaming service’s series productions. We’re talking about the French shark thriller In the Waters of the Seine by Xavier Gens.
This is what it is about: Shortly before a major triathlon event in Paris, a giant shark in the Seine discovered. This brings the brilliant marine biologist Sophia (Bérénice Bejo) into action, who teams up with environmental activist Mika (Léa Léviant) and water policeman Adil (Nassim Lyes) to prevent a bloodbath.
In the Waters of the Seine on Netflix: Shark thriller with a dark ending causes horror and excitement
The end of the film, which does not exactly end in favor of the human Parisians, is causing a lot of discussion online. In a widely noticed tweet on X, @DerekBrock writes:
Xavier Gen’s ‘In the Waters of the Seine’ is one of the most brutally nihilistic, captivating and serious scariest shark movies of the last few years. The balls that Gens had to create such a third act and such an ending is nothing short of breathtaking. So dark, yet captivating.
Others agree and compare the dark finale with the end of Avengers 3: Infinity War, in which half of humanity is wished away by a magic glove. The Parisian sharks join a seemingly forgotten tradition of Unhappy endings in genre films as was the case at the time of The Body Snatchers or Phase IV.
Watch the German Netflix trailer for In the Waters of the Seine here:
In the Waters of the Seine – Trailer (German) HD
In the Waters of the Seine was also well received by critics. At Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently has a Tomatoemeter rating of 72 percent, even though the audience score is only 40 percent. Our Moviepilot community also currently gives it a rating of just 5.1.
In his positive review on Variety, Michael Nordine is not even afraid of the obvious, but for some perhaps questionable, comparison with Steven Spielberg’s classic Jaws:
Few films deserve the ‘often imitated, never equaled’ tag like Jaws, as truly great shark movies that followed it can be counted on one hand with a few missing fingers. ‘The Waters of the Seine’ might be the best of them, which is not the faint praise it may sound like.
The waters of the Seine have been January 5, 2024 on Netflix online.