Yes, 'The Devil's Mouth' bites
Stupid, annoying and hard to see might be the holy trinity of crap, and “The Devil’s Mouth” lives there a very high percentage of its draggy 100-or-so minutes. Some people probably think they’re in for any thriller about sharks — good news; there’s about 80 billion other options — and this one isn’t so awful as to upend that perception but might inspire a break for a while.
No, the problem isn’t about logic. I don’t care if a bull shark can survive in fresh water and find its way into a cave or not, and neither do you. All we want in a movie like this — as a group of friends vacations in Thailand and makes the not-at-all questionable decision to travel deep into a cave system simply because clearly self-interested leader Max (Lana Condor) read some great reviews — is to feel invested in the characters and maybe a little unsure about who’s going to make it and ideally at least kinda impressed about the shark effects.
Well, that’s a big 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, and not even swinging. Director Jeff Wadlow (the underrated “Never Back Down,” the lousy “Kick-Ass 2”) struggles to deliver underwater action sequences in the same hemisphere as visible or believable. Meanwhile, the performances, including consistently bland Kathryn “Please stop trying to make her happen” Newton (“Freaky,” “Ready or Not 2”), are terrible from everyone except Tayme Thapthimthong of “The White Lotus” as the tour guide.
With a certain brand of mediocrity, just making it to the end of the movie is an exhausted nod in the direction of “Eh, you could do worse, I guess.” With a story this lame and characters this obnoxious, there’s almost a sick curiosity that sets in about just how bad “The Devil’s Mouth” will get, and a disappointment that it doesn’t even get down to the level of good trash. Literally any other examination of toxic relationships would be a better watch about the question of when it’s time to cut someone loose.
Want a movie that takes you into caves in Thailand? Watch “The Rescue,” the excellent documentary from the makers of “Free Solo” about the miraculous 2018 rescue of the soccer team. Want to grumble and roll your eyes while also squinting to even make out what’s going on in a lot of crucial moments? “The Devil’s Mouth” it is.
D+
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