#REVIEW: “WHALEFALL”

Review by Nicholas Porteous for Mr. Will Wong

A year after the death of Mitt–a borderline-abusive, deep sea-diving dad (Josh Brolin)–his son Jay (Austin Abrams) honours his memory the only way he knows how: diving underwater to find his remains. But Jay gets a truly raw deal when he’s consumed whole by a sperm whale, forced to survive its belly with little more than a tank of oxygen. Whalefall is a movie that completely sold me on its premise alone. How can you possibly set a movie inside a whale? How does one pull off a feature-length film about a guy being slowly digested?? The answer involves copious flashbacks, yes, but there’s also a decent amount of interior whale time. As you might expect, it’s a dizzying, claustrophobic nightmare. I can’t think of another movie scenario that replicates the very specific, pulsating, organic-room horror of Whalefall. But, whale aside, is it actually a good movie?

Unfortunately, not quite. Whalefall is weighed down by a deeply dour, exposition-heavy screenplay, an overbearing score, and unearned sentimental direction. Austin Abrams is innocent. Between this and Resident Evil, he’s mastered the ‘nice guy fighting through hell’ archetype. Somehow, he manages to make his near-ceaseless screaming feel completely justified. Never annoying. Josh Brolin has played his share of brutal father figures, and he embodies Mitt with all of his might. But there’s only so much you can do with such a relentless, inattentive character. Underneath the mask of ‘raging dad’, he’s mostly just a delivery device for useful tips and tricks if you happen to find yourself inside a whale. His strained relationship with Abrams feels paper-thin. There’s not enough camouflage to disguise his true expository purpose, and he’s not alone. The whole family spends most of the Film petulantly-nagging Abrams. You can’t blame him for being so miserable–even before he’s in the whale. The only relationship in the Film that approaches a feeling of genuine heart and levity is Abrams‘ brief encounter with a lost jellyfish. It’s tough to care about anything when every other human feels like such dead weight.

The visuals of Whalefall are as fantastic as they are disgusting. It’s the closest one can get to being inside a whale without actually trespassing. There are some gorgeous, poetic shots in the depths of the ocean. Director Brian Duffield loves the iridescent, gooey textures and little details that make the experience so visceral. That same approach falters when he shoots far-too-intense POV closeups of his characters as they experience dramatic revelations. Rather than plucking heartstrings, it’s as disconcerting as the cramped push-ins whenever the whale’s violent digestive system attempts to crush Abrams with its giant muscles. Whenever the movie goes for spiritual pathos, it’s just as in-your-face. It’s far too literal when it could be leaning into the wordless profundity of its deep sea designs.

Whalefall is a one-of-a-kind claustrophobic horror experience. Aside from Abrams and some impressive imagery, it’s too bad everything else in the movie all but sinks it.

20th Century Studios Canada release WHALEFALL October 16, 2026 in theatres.