There have not been a lot of shark movies. Obviously, there is Jaws. Jaws II was decent. The Shallows had it moments. The Sharknado series can give some stupid fun. And then there is Deep Blue Sea. After that, the shark films usually are not very good.

We have another entry into the awesome end of these movies.

Under Paris is a French language film that tells the story of a specific shark that had evolved in ways that are never explained and that winds up in the Seine, a river that runs through Paris, France right at the time of an Olympic triathlon.

The shark, nicknamed Lilith by Sophia Assalas (Bérénice Bejo), a scientist whose team were tracking sharks that they had tagged. In an attempt to check in on Lilith, Sophia’s entire team is killed by the shark in an uncharacteristic attack.

Three years later, Lilith finds her way into the Seine and into the catacombs beneath the city. A young environmental activist name Mika (Léa Léviant) had found a way to track Lilith, but wants to save the shark and help the female shark to get back out to the ocean.

Sophia and Mika’s paths cross with the Paris Police, including police officer Adil (Nassim Lyes) who does not believe that there is a shark in the Seine at first, until undeniable evidence faces him.

This is a brutal shark movie with some really awesome moments. The tension of the film is off the charts and you can really feel it. Sure, the premise itself requires some serious stretching of credibility, and the film does not try to explain how this is happening. Sophia is constantly saying things like ‘this shouldn’t be happening’ or ‘it is not possible’ and the discoveries of the evolution of this shark is not scientifically sound, yet that does not bother me either.

Why are all mayors in shark movies jerks? Much like Jaws, whose mayor insisted on keeping the beaches open on the July 4th holiday, the Paris mayor (Ann Marivin) is likewise as blind when it came to the danger the shark posed the triathlon.

The sharks look pretty decent, though some of the CGI is questionable at times. My guess is that there is not a ton of budget on this, and I feel as if what we got was substantial enough for what they were going for. I was not taken out of the film by any of the special effects and that can not always be said about shark movies (hey there The Meg).

There were a couple of moments when I gasped out loud or cried something out in shock and that means that the film is doing its job. It is nowhere near Jaws quality, but it is much better than most of the shark attack movies out there. Under Paris is currently available to stream on Netflix.

4.1 stars