The Superdeep movie review & film summary (2021)

“The Superdeep” has a classic horror movie shell for its plot: “Despite all warnings and common sense, let’s send the well-meaning heroine in to face an unknown threat while surrounded by well-armed military men who are led by a man with different priorities than our heroine.” Instead of space, which is the anticipated setting for these type of stories, “The Superdeep” takes place in a station that is already buried miles beneath the surface of the Earth. And while the story on the surface seems to be understandable, there are a number of scientific plot holes that make it hard for a thinking person to accept, like an elevator that can rise and fall several miles into the Earth in a matter of minutes. Surely the whole movie could be explained away as a severe case of decompression sickness, but there’s a terrifying and horrifying creature at the bottom of the borehole. After hints and allegations of the foe’s existence, it doesn’t make an appearance until almost two-thirds of the movie has passed. 

This choice by first-time writer/director Arseny Syukhin proves to be smart. Without showing his hand, he builds an incredible amount of tension and suspense using the actors and an ultra-creepy soundtrack. Unfortunately, once the creature appears, you never get a good look at it, which actually may be a decent idea because what is seen is quite putrid and repulsive.

“The Superdeep” is most often a formulaic mess, and a little nonsensical when it’s not flat-out uninteresting. The special effects are decent though, and it does prove the shocks and gross-outs a good horror movie should provide. If you are a desperate horror fan, it could pass for some turn-off-your-brain entertainment.

Now playing on Shudder.