The Devil’s Mouth, on Prime Video

In shark movies, it seems the dumber characters are, the better they taste. No shark ever ate gristly old Sheriff Brody, right? If that is indeed the case, the college kids in this movie must be absolutely delicious. Admittedly, finding a bull shark in a fresh water cave system is rather unexpected, but once they do, they make every bad decision possible in Jeff Wadlow’s The Devil’s Mouth, which premieres today on Prime Video.

Sara is understandably annoyed with her “friends,” because they accidentally left her behind, swimming in jellyfish infested waters. Hey, they came back for her. Hence her bad mood and numerous welts during their cave diving excursion. However, Sara had her heart set on seeing “the devil’s mouth,” the cave opening ringed by teeth-like stalactites and stalagmites, so she soldiers on.

Their guide, Wat, wants to take the easy route, because of recent typhoon activity, but, instead, Max, the group’s bossy queen bee, insists on taking the black diamond trail. As always, everyone defers to her. However, when the storm raised the water levels, a bull shark swam into the caves, where he now remains stuck, angry and hungry.

This is one of those sharkploitation movies where most viewers will root for the shark. Sara represents the logical final girl candidate, who must learn to trust herself and reject Max’s bad judgment to survive. That could be a credible dramatic arc, but the young shallow cast are mostly good for one thing: chumming the waters.

Frankly, what most stands out during Devil’s Mouth are the stunning location shots. If it weren’t for the shark attacks, Wadlow’s film would be a highly effective PSA for Thai tourism. Wadlow, who previously helmed several Blumhouse horror releases, including the hot unruly mess of a guilty pleasure, Truth or Dare, so it isn’t surprising he helms some satisfyingly gory feeding frenzies. However, character development is thinner than dictionary pages.

Sure, Kathryn Newton is reasonably likeable as Sara, but her extreme passivity stretches credibility. Lana Condor also deserves some credit for fully embracing Max’s self-centered arrogance, but her almost comical sense of entitlement quickly outlasts its welcome. To add insult to the Thai film industry, prominent thesp Sahajak Boonthanakit (recognizable to genre fans from films like Mayhem! and Bangkok Dog) is completely wasted as a tour boat captain (whom Max treats like a servant).

In a way, Devil’s Mouth makes a compellingly Darwinian case for the survival of the fittest—that would be the bull shark. It is pretty cheesy, but it delivers what it promises. Yes, by coincidence, this happens to be “Shark Week.” There are at least two sharkspolitation movies hoping to piggyback, also including Above and Below, which benefits from a colorful and dependable cast of VOD action movie veterans. There are worse shark movies than Wadlow’s, but there are also plenty of better options. Just not good enough to recommend, The Devil’s Mouth starts streaming today (7/29) on Prime Video.