Refreshingly, it’s not murderous sharks or aquatic aliens that cause the tensions and drama in THE DIVE, a fine little thriller that in the golden era of the double feature would have been the B film, and one that is superior to a lot of A list flotsam that’s released today.

Tootling along the craggy cliffs of Malta in a rental car, sisters Drew and May are heading for a rocky, secluded shoreline entry point for a scuba dive.

The sisters are close but there seems to be a little bit of friction bubbling just under the surface from May.

During their dive, May is abruptly hit by a descending rock. Soon, there is a deluge of rocks emanating from a landslide above water. Suddenly, countless rocks are depth charging into the ocean. May gets struck by the rockfall and subsequently stuck, trapped by debris, unable to move.

With dangerously low levels of oxygen and cold temperatures, it is up to Drew to fight for her sister’s life. A frantic race for survival ensues as Drew desperately battles to find help in the isolated landscape, whilst May is pinned to the bottom of the ocean, facing her own psychological battle as she confronts the devastating reality.

Drew summons all her ingenuity, resourcefulness, and fortitude to try and keep her sister from imminent death. The frustrations pile high as the minutes tick away.

Sophie Lowe as Drew and Louisa Krause as May give terrific performances, with Lowe tasked with the more energetic sequences as she battles car boots, decompression, clueless seamen, faulty air lines, and her own fears of hopelessness.

THE DIVE is a deep plunge into perseverance, the hallowed ground of hope, the peering into the precipice and eyeballing the abyss.

Kudos to director Maximilian Erlinwein, who co-wrote the script with Joachim Heden, who wrote and directed the original film, 2020’s Breaking Surface.

Cinematographer Frank Griebe, of Run Lola Run fame, submerses us in splendid underwater photography while ratcheting up the earth tones in the rocky terrestrial sequences.