Killer Whale Review: Watery Peril Turns Captive Orca into Angry Threat
Sharks have dominated horror and thriller movies for decades, so it is refreshing when a film shifts focus to a different aquatic predator: the killer whale. However, Killer Whale, starring Ceto the cetacean villain, fails to deliver the terror of classics like Jaws or the campy thrill of Deep Blue Sea. Instead, it becomes a relationship drama between two best friends stranded on a rock in bikinis, hoping not to be eaten.
Plot Overview
Maddie (Virginia Gardner) is a waitress and cellist with big musical ambitions until a robbery at her diner leaves her hearing impaired and her dream man, Chad (Isaac Crawley), dead. A year later, she recuperates on a vacation with her college friend Trish (Mel Jarnson), a beautiful social media influencer studying gene editing for her PhD. The killer whale Ceto is a touchstone for Maddie and Chad, and Trish plans for Maddie to visit Ceto in captivity at a waterpark. After meeting Josh (Mitchell Hope) and getting drunk, the trio break into the waterpark to see the whale.
Things go wrong, and they end up marooned on a rock in the ocean with an angry killer whale between them and safety. The film offers some fun lines, such as “Maddie, don’t, that’s Chad’s cremation stone box,” and piques curiosity about how the pair will survive. However, it lacks dramatic heft to make the audience care about their fate.
Horror and Character Issues
On the horror front, the extremely limited number of characters is a problem. With only a few kills possible, the characters’ drama must sustain interest between set pieces, a task it struggles with. There are a couple of decent plot twists and reveals, but not enough to prevent viewers from checking out until the next whale scene. The film never approaches the terror of serious landmarks like Jaws nor the ridiculous deliciousness of silly thrillers like Deep Blue Sea.
Killer Whale is on digital platforms from 18 May. For fans of aquatic horror, it may offer brief diversion, but it fails to make a lasting impression.
