As a disaster movie, The Abyss has a great premise and location but it fails to be the disaster movie I wanted to see. Maybe its intent was to be more serious… though a sinking sandbox suggests otherwise.

The flick is about a mining town in Sweden that has to be moved due to all the recent quakes. A splintered family is introduced so we can follow them as the big one hits and everyone scrambles to survive.

Interesting location based on a real town that is being moved due to real mine instabilities. It’s a great location and scenario for a what-if disaster movie. Unfortunately, I don’t think the flick spent enough time really establishing the location so much as a single family. It should have followed a more standard approach to disaster movies… a large cast of characters in different walks of life. Sure, that’s a typical setup but at least it would have given us a better understanding of the location and more stakes

Once the disaster hits, the movie moves in fits and starts. There’s an immediate sense of danger but then it spends entirely too long underground in a mutant-free version of The Descent. Then the final act is set in an isolated post-disaster scenario where I was more annoyed at the character’s slow reactions than engaged in their survival.

The actual disaster segments are pretty good for a lower budget film but also pretty limited. It’s a typical problem for an earthquake movie as all the damage generally takes place in a short period of time. Still, the movie could have done more to keep it thrilling.

Overall, this is a near miss for me. I liked its location and scenario but not so much what they decided to do with it. It’s a worthy try, at least… I suppose.

Score: 74