The idea of getting swallowed by a whale and having just 60 minutes to escape its stomach is pretty wild, especially when you’re trying to turn it into a feature-length movie. But that’s exactly what makes “Whalefall” such an intriguing premise. Director Brian Duffield adapts Daniel Kraus’ 2023 novel, which was inspired by a viral video of kayakers who nearly ended up inside a humpback whale’s mouth. That real-life encounter sparked an idea that eventually grew into a full-blown survival thriller, with Austin Abrams playing the unfortunate soul who finds himself trapped inside the enormous animal.
- Rating: 4/5 stars
- Verdict: “Whalefall” is a breathless survival thriller that had me cringing, gasping and gripping my seat. Austin Abrams excels in its claustrophobic body horror, though convenient flashbacks occasionally interrupt the tension. Despite some storytelling hiccups, this bizarre, visceral underwater nightmare is absolutely worth experiencing on the big screen.
- Where to watch: "Whalefall" is now in theaters
While I knew the basic premise of "Whalefall" going in, I’d deliberately avoided most of the trailers. The movie follows Jay Gardiner (Abrams), a young scuba diver searching for his late father’s (Josh Brolin) remains off the California coast. But things take a terrifying turn when a massive sperm whale swallows him whole, leaving him with just one hour of oxygen to find a way out. As you’d expect, much of the movie sees Jay trapped inside the whale’s stomach, battling stomach acid and the animal’s digestive process while confronting his troubled past and fighting to stay alive.
If you’re thinking of catching this new survival thriller in theaters this weekend, here are my honest thoughts on “Whalefall” to help you decide whether it’s worth the price of a ticket.
‘Whalefall’ is an absolute breath-taker
Survival thrillers have a way of making you sweat, gasp and grip your seat, sometimes all within the space of a few minutes. “Whalefall” plays into that perfectly, and with a premise like this, it knows exactly how to get a visceral reaction out of its audience.
I certainly found myself cringing and tensing up in my seat, especially when Jay gets caught in the crosshairs of a giant sperm whale hunting a squid and ends up becoming the whale’s next meal. The whole sequence is incredibly tense because you know Jay isn’t going to be able to swim away. Instead, he wakes up trapped inside the animal’s stomach, with just 60 minutes to escape.
“Whalefall” does a solid job of making the inside of a whale’s stomach look as gross as you’d imagine, with slimy walls and a bizarre collection of fish and other objects it’s swallowed. Watching Jay trapped in this claustrophobic space as he desperately searches for a way out is stressful enough, but things get even nastier when the whale’s stomach starts contracting to crush and digest its food. Seriously gross stuff.
Abrams also does a fantastic job of making Jay’s terror feel real as he struggles to breathe in the toxic air and squeezes through different openings in search of an escape, even if that means accidentally dropping into some acidic goo along the way.
The scenes with Jay trapped inside the whale are easily the strongest parts of “Whalefall.” It’s everything outside of that which weakens an otherwise interesting story. The flashbacks exploring Jay’s complicated relationship with his father, Mitt, are compelling, thanks to strong performances from both Abrams and Brolin. There’s plenty of emotional baggage here, too, which makes Jay’s desperate search for his father’s remains even more heartbreaking. However, some of the flashbacks feel a little too convenient.
Having Jay suddenly remember something his father taught him, like how to treat a wound or slow his breathing, takes away some of the urgency when I’d rather see him figure things out for himself in the moment. There’s also a moment in the third act that takes away some of the seriousness of the situation. Without giving too much away, Jay starts hallucinating from a lack of oxygen and ends up talking to the whale.
I can see how some audiences might appreciate a bit of humor after such an intense hour, but I would’ve preferred to see more panic and fear instead. Still, “Whalefall” is a solid survival thriller that’s at its best when all you’re seeing is the whale’s belly.
Verdict: ‘Whalefall’ is a survival thriller worth holding your breath for
“Whalefall” is definitely one of the year’s best survival thrillers, and I’d recommend catching it on the big screen if you’re after something seriously intense this weekend. It’s even more fascinating knowing the story was very loosely inspired by a real-life incident involving people who nearly ended up in a similar situation. The team behind the movie also worked closely with marine biologists and whale experts to make sure the science felt as believable as possible. Both the original novel and the film draw on scientific research to explore what might actually happen if a person ended up inside a sperm whale.
Even though “Whalefall” struggles a little with its storytelling, particularly when the constant flashbacks interrupt Jay’s escape, I still found it incredibly effective. The film fully commits to its unusual premise rather than treating it as a throwaway gimmick, giving us a strange mix of body horror, family drama and bigger questions about life and survival. It’s certainly not perfect, but it’s the kind of movie you really have to see to believe.
"Whalefall" is now in theaters