Whalefall (2026) Review: A Nasty Surprise Beneath the Waves

Brian Duffield delivers an uncomfortable survival thriller with some grim imagery

Whalefall is a pretty decent thriller that had enough good moments to keep my interest, and it was far better than I was anticipating it to be.

Good Points

• The setting is horrible.

• Austin Abrams and Josh Brolin.

• The visuals get properly weird.

Bad Points

• The emotional drama doesn’t really work.

• The balance is slightly off.

• Some rough edges.

Whalefall Plot

Whalefall is an official adaptation of Daniel Kraus’s bestselling science-fiction thriller novel - A scuba diver who while looking for his father's remains, is swallowed by an 80-foot, 60-ton sperm whale and has just one hour to get out before his oxygen runs out.

My Thoughts on Whalefall

The Setting Is Horrible. In a Good Way

Director Brian Duffield has definitely done a very good job of making this one feel like somewhere you absolutely would not want to be, where it all feels fairly horrifying, but the film thankfully doesn’t rely on that alone, because it also puts in some real effort into making pretty much everything feel pretty disgusting and uncomfortable.

It has this proper sense of physical space running throughout, with the environment playing a massive part, and some of the imagery is pretty grim too, so I wouldn’t blame anyone for feeling a bit queasy during certain moments.

It’s also a film that is not afraid to get weird. It could easily have been yet another fairly ordinary survival thriller, but Duffield has managed to push the visual side of things to become something you don’t really see every week.

Austin Abrams

Abrams is pretty solid, featuring a demanding performance, both physically and emotionally, and he gives it everything here without making it feel like he’s desperately trying to win an acting award.

He makes the uncomfortable moments feel convincing, and there’s also enough vulnerability in the performance to stop the character becoming just another hero who happens to be having a particularly bad day.

Josh Brolin is also good, although I found the emotional side of the film a little less consistent than its survival material - the performances aren’t the problem, as there’s plenty of good work here - but some of the character drama doesn’t come across as well as I am sure was hoped.

The Horror Elements

This isn’t a traditional horror film, and anyone expecting a straightforward creature feature might be surprised by how much time it spends on survival and drama, but that said, there’s enough here to make horror fans get something out of it.

It’s quite a simple approach overall, and most of the tension and horror elements come from the environment of doing such a good job of making you feel uncomfortable.

There are also some properly unpleasant images, and the film doesn’t completely chicken out when it comes to the more gruesome side of things. I wouldn’t call it scary or anything, but it has its moments for sure, and that’s a decent enough result.

The Balance Is Slightly Off

I would say the film doesn’t always balance its different elements particularly well though - the survival scenes are the strongest part for me, while the emotional material slows things down without adding quite as much as it should, where it feels far too keen on explaining its emotional ideas than letting them speak for themselves.

Still, overall the film is doing plenty right - it has a few rough adges but I also wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did.

A pleasant surprise.

Final Verdict

A more uncomfortable and effective survival thriller than I expected - worth checking out.

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