Blake Lively's thriller The Shallows may revolutionize shark movies

Confession time! I love Blake Lively. Not in a creepy stalker type of way, but in a celebrity-girl-crush sort of way that makes me excited to watch every-single-one-of-her-movies. And everyone loves a good shark movie, myself included.

Jaws became the precedent for the hesitation most people feel when entering an open body of water. The Reef makes people second guess getting on a boat and Deep Blue Sea is just plain amazing and freaky in it’s own right.

So when I saw the promo poster and tagline for The Shallows, I felt those movie-loving feels sucking me in. “What was once in the deep is now in the shallows” coupled with a picture of a surfer from an angle below the water? I name thyself intrigued. You can also be intrigued by watching the movie trailer below.

Shark movies don’t get much simpler than a typically deep water dwelling creature battling it out with a surfer. Except, this surfer is played by Blake Lively, so I have to give credit where credit is due!

However, Sony’s first trailer for The Shallows didn’t get me too excited. My girl Blake is screaming for help from a rock in the water, where she lays bloodied and alone. Obviously we know why this is happening (it is a shark movie, after all) but this trailer didn’t give me much hope for a backstory.

Fingers Crossed

Would this just be 87 minutes of watching drone video footage of Blake on a rock, being circled by a shark? The second trailer thankfully gives us a glimpse at some more scenes. Our surfer’s real name is Nancy. She’s a student. She has a sister. Their presumably deceased mother is the reason Nancy is surfing in this particular body of water.  She’s alone on that rock because the shark treated itself to a mid-swim snack by removing two other nearby surfers from the water.

I’m about ready to hold up a sign that reads “I Love Sharks!” at this point.

But the final trailer is what really sealed the deal for me.

The first 45 seconds could be confused with a surfer commercial. Honestly, if they cut it off just before the shark appeared and faded out to a Billabong or Rip Curl logo, it would be perfect advertising.

But that’s not what happens. Instead, Nancy gets hit by the shark while she’s coming out of a wave tube. She wipes out hardcore, gets pummeled by the waves and then collides head first with rocks and reef along the ocean floor. She just about makes it back onto her board before being dragged back under and being surrounded by blood. Then she’s on the rock and oh my god my nerves are fraying but I must keep watching!

The whole time I’m watching this trailer, I’m also listening to the accompanying ominous preacher like soundtrack - and this is what sets the final trailer apart from the other two. The music brings with it a sense of suspense, and helps convince me that the movie will be an actual nail-biting thriller instead of just another shark movie flop.

The plot may be simple, but I’m looking forward to seeing how Nancy fights for her life, if she escapes the rock and if she makes it back to the nearby shore and survives.

Will The Shallows revolutionize shark movies? I guess we’ll see when it swims into theatres on June 29th. (UK Release Date - August 12th)