The Black Demon

It only comes when summoned, the local legend says. A shark ‘of God-like proportions’ – some say a megalodon – known as el Demonio Negro and bent on vengeance. It’s the reason why the once prosperous coastal town is now all but deserted. Only a small group of men can be seen when the family arrives. They’re hanging around outside a pub, behind a grim-faced man who is introduced as El Rey (Raúl Méndez). No, he says, the family will not find a hotel. The kids don’t look too disappointed. it was never going to be much of a holiday anyway, being dragged along on another of their dad’s work trips.

Their dad, Paul (Josh Lucas) is a representative of the oil company which until recently employed most of the townsfolk. He’s there to check out the rig, and has to do that regardless, though it takes a hefty bribe to persuade a local fisherman to take him there. Wife Ines (Fernanda Urrejola), teenage daughter Audrey (Venus Ariel) and young son Tommy (Carlos Solórzano) wait in the bar, but when things go awry there, they are forced to find a boat of their own and head out to join him.

This is not the sort of shark film that’s all about chowing down on partygoers and spewing 3D body parts – if that’s what you’re looking for, there are plenty of others to choose from. Despite a peppering of directorial clichés (the collapse of the town is signalled by a skinny dog standing alone in a dusty street; the shark first appears as a distant, rapidly approaching fin), and although it has clearly been made with modest means, it has a bit more going on. There is more than one black demon at large. The beach is littered with plastic. The bay is clearly in a bad state. The rig is crumbling, evidently in no state to bring up oil cleanly. is this why Paul didn’t want his family to see it?

Questions of culpability and ecological duty are given an additional dimension through numerous references to Tlaloc, the Aztec god of water and giver of life. Early on, Tommy acquires a small statue of him, fascinated by his ringed eyes, and the last remaining men on the rig, Chato (Julio Cesar Cedillo) and Junior (Jorge A Jimenez) indulge his appetite for stories. The god’s name is also invoked in prayer, and his implied presence shapes the film much like that of the Christian god in many mainstream US productions. He is, it is suggested, responsible for the presence of the shark, but might also be called upon for protection. Can his wrath be assuaged? Tommy nervously notes that he is said to prefer child sacrifices.

These are not the usual children we meet in films. They banter very naturally in the car on the way there, but when things get serious, Tommy is thoughtful and observant, whilst Audrey is the most realistic and respectfully written teenage girl in any film so far this year. She has clearly had to take on adult responsibilities for some time, knowing when to steer her brother aside and tell him not to worry, “It’s just another one of mom and dad’s fights.” Despite a scary experience early on, she doesn’t waste time screaming or whining, and when Tommy is really in trouble, she makes the smartest decision of anyone there. Her knowledge and lateral thinking significantly enhance the group’s survival prospects, yet she never seems unrealistic. Needless to say, it would be good to see more of this.

Elsewhere, The Black Demon may lack subtlety, but that ought to be forgivable in a film about a menacing megalodon. Well framed and edited montages of environmental destruction sit alongside taut underwater sequences in which the men strive to re-establish communication with the mainland and keep the rig from being torn out from under them. Meanwhile, Ines becomes suspicious about Paul’s behaviour and Audrey tries to figure out a means of escape. There is an obligatory Jaws quote but it’s neatly places and cute rather than fawning. Even the rig’s resident chihuahua, Toro, acquits himself pretty well.

This is not a Hollywood quality action film. The low budget shows. The CGI is rough in places and it’s over-reliant on distorting colours to set the mood. All of the actors give it their best but not all of them are up to scratch. That said, it’s a commendable effort, and when so few shark films these days have anything amounting to a plot, it’s refreshing to see a properly constructed action thriller which goes beyond showing ofv a big scary monster and actually has something to say.