47 Metres Down: Uncaged

image for 47 Metres Down: Uncaged

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Not suitable under 13; parental guidance to 15 (sustained suspense, violence, themes)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for 47 Metres Down: Uncaged
  • a review of 47 Metres Down: Uncaged completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 4 November 2019.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 13 Not suitable due to violence, sustained suspense and themes.
Children aged 13–15 Parental guidance recommended due to violence, sustained suspense and themes.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: 47 Metres Down: Uncaged
Classification: M
Consumer advice lines: Sustained threat
Length: 90 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Mia (Sophie Nelisse) is having a hard time adjusting to her new life in Mexico where her father (John Corbett) is leading a dive expedition, exploring ancient Mayan burial chambers lost in a vast underwater cave system beneath the city. Mia’s popular stepsister, Sasha (Corinne Foxx), isn’t helping matters by ignoring the bullying Mia endures at school and ignoring her at home. When the two are forced to spend the day together at a tourist attraction, Sasha’s friends Alexa (Brianne Tju) and Nicole (Sistine Stallone) offer an enticing alternative and Mia reluctantly agrees to join them. The girls find themselves in a deserted part of the jungle where they hike down to a beautiful waterhole that hides an entrance to the ancient caves. Using scuba gear left for archaeologists the girls decide to explore the first cave. Amazed at what they initially find Nicole ventures a little further, however, terrified at what she discovers, she accidentally knocks over a column which ultimately results in part of the cave collapsing. Trapped underwater in the darkness the girls must find a way to escape before their air runs out and before the numerous sharks that lurk in the caves find them.

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Bullying, sibling difficulties within blended families, imminent and sustained threat of death, loss of life.

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is some violence in this movie including:

  • Mia is pushed into a pool by a group of school bullies.
  • References are made to the human sacrifices made on a stone altar.
  • Sharks kill both men working for Mia’s dad. Lots of blood is shown in the water. Both Nicole and Mia’s dads are attacked and eaten.
  • The girls are constantly under threat of being eaten by the sharks lurking in the cave system.
  • Mia shoots a shark with a flare gun as it tries to eat her sister.
  • Mia stabs a shark with a shark tooth while the shark has her in its jaws.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

  • The sharks in this movie look like they have adapted to the dark, some are missing eyes and look very evil and menacing. They lurk in the shadows and attack with vengeance. There is often heavy breathing and dramatic music as the girls try to get away. The characters are terrified and the images and scenes could be extremely scary for younger viewers.
  • A creepy looking fish swims right up to Nicole, opens its mouth as if it is about to bite her and lets out a horrific scream that causes Nicole to fall back into a pillar. This causes part of the cave to collapse and separates Mia from the rest of the group. She is terrified, in swirling dark water and can’t see or hear her friends.
  • A man working underwater is killed by a shark that can be seen in the shadows. He turns to face it at the last minute before being brutally ripped to pieces. Mia later comes across his severed head.
  • Lots of skeletons are shown in a cave that appears to be a catacomb.

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

  • Mia’s dad is taken by a shark, mid- sentence while he talks to the girls, and is killed right in front of them.
  • Sasha is separated from Mia when an ocean current pulls her away. Both girls are screaming, struggling and trying to hold on. Mia is devastated when Sasha disappears into the water, thinking that she has been killed. Moments later a shark looms up before Alexa and grabs hold of her scuba pack. She is able to disentangle herself but drowns while trying to swim away. Her terrible death is shown in detail.

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged eight to thirteen, including the following:

  • Nicole is killed by a shark as she desperately tries to save herself. In the end she is torn in half as her horrified friends watch on.
  • For much of the movie the girls are in immediate danger. Their terror is palpable, as friends, acquaintances and family members die brutally. Often the images are obscured and there is a murky darkness in the water which makes it harder to see the sharks until they are directly in front or behind people. The movie includes a number of jump scares.

Thirteen and overinfo

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

Some of the above-mentioned scenes may also frighten or disturb children over the age of thirteen.

Product placement

  • None noted.

Sexual references

  • None noted.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

  • Most of the girls wear bikinis and skimpy outfits.

Use of substances

  • None noted.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

  • Infrequent use of the following words: “Crap,” “Shit,” “Idiot,” “Ass,” and “Hell.”
  • The ‘rude’/middle finger is flashed occasionally.

In a nutshell

47 Metres Down: Uncaged is an underwater thriller and a sequel to the first 47 Metres Down, through with different characters and a different location. Although the plot is largely unbelievable and the dialogue is weak, viewers will likely feel the fear and tension as they wait for the next, inevitable, attack to come. The movie will most likely appeal to teen audiences.

The main message from this movie is to think before you act, especially when it involves a dangerous risk.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • Persistence
  • Courage
  • Determination
  • Ingenuity
  • Appreciation for history.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

  • Going off without telling anyone where you are.
  • Using things that don’t belong to you.
  • Bowing to peer pressure even when you know what you are about to do is wrong.
  • Taking silly and dangerous risks.