Whalefall

Currently still in cinemas with Resident Evil – where the hefty weight of saving the world from a zombie virus rests on his character’s clumsy shoulders – Austin Abrams already managed to get himself into another predicament. In Whalefall, the Euphoria graduate is swallowed by a sperm whale: a premise single-handedly driving the promotion for this film, speaking to a morbid curiosity of audiences wanting to see how this quagmire plays out.

Jay Gardiner (Abrams) is still reeling from his father’s (Josh Brolin) recent death. The two shared a complicated relationship and Jay dreads opening the letter the aquanaut left for him. Because his body was lost at sea and the family had to bury an empty casket, Jay instead reaches for his scuba equipment. As if in penance, he takes it upon himself to search for his father’s remains. Underwater, the student inadvertently strays too close to a squid targeted by a hungry whale and Jay gets swallowed up along with the angry mollusc. Trapped inside the leviathan, the young man only has as long as his oxygen tank holds out to find a way to escape.

Director Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You) wrote the adaptation of Daniel Kraus’s novel together with the author, who evidently performed meticulous research to be as realistic as possible in this fanciful setting. From the pulsating fleshy set design to the reasoned acidic effects of gastric juices, the detailed world-building pays off in creating a palpable, completely immersive atmosphere. Aided by haunting sound design, the camera positively engulfs audiences in this claustrophobic environment, leaving them gasping for air alongside the protagonist. Jay’s passage through the innards of the animal veers into body-horror territory, evoking a visceral sense of phantom pain when he gets injured, without relinquishing sympathy for the marine mammal.

Austin Abrams assuredly rises to the demands of a performance that challenges him on multiple fronts. With much of his face obscured by swimming goggles and the oxygen tank’s mouthpiece, his expressive range is inevitably constrained, but he still manages to find ways to incisively convey his fear and anguish. The young actor’s willingness to take such risks in his role selection and unselfconscious commitment to his craft make him one of the most fascinating talents of his generation.

Like a number of features that physically confine themselves to one location, Whalefall intercuts its linear present-day narrative with explanatory flashbacks that hold the key to Jay’s escape. After all, Mitt Gardiner was determined to pass down the seafaring traditions that defined him. Despite the tangible father-son dynamic (after all this is the third collaboration of Abrams and Brolin, resulting in a natural familiarity), their segments never quite muster the same intensity as the fight for survival inside the whale. Coasting on the presumed emotional resonance of the family drama, Duffield almost forgets to do the work necessary to make that sentimentality feel earned.

Whalefall succeeds as a breathtaking, nightmarish survival thriller with an uncompromising lead performance by Austin Abrams. Unfortunately the film’s past timeline never feels as fully realised as the present-day counterpart it is meant to support, resulting in an uneven plunge into its thematic depths.

Selina Sondermann

Whalefall is released nationwide on 16^th October 2026.

Watch the trailer for Whalefall here: