Idris Elba Trades Orbit For The Ocean Floor In ‘Above The Below’ Trailer

Some movie premises sell themselves in one sentence. Think Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, except the disaster plays out underwater. That’s the pitch for Above The Below, and the first trailer just dropped.

Space Was The Easy Part

Here’s the setup. Three astronauts survive a disaster in space, but their unscheduled crash-landing leaves them trapped in the crushing depths of the ocean. There’s no contact with mission control, and the oxygen is rapidly running out. Surviving the trip home turns out to be only the beginning.

The studio promises a race against time where every breath could be the last, with the crew facing impossible choices and new dangers at every turn. If you like your thrillers tight, cramped and short on air, this one is built for you.

Elba Is Behind The Camera Too

Idris Elba stars and co-directs alongside Martin Owen. He plays a character named Jackson. Caitlin FitzGerald and Hero Fiennes Tiffin round out the cast, and the screenplay comes from Elizabeth Morris, Matthew Mitchell and Vicki Sargent.

Elba has the kind of screen presence that can carry a movie set almost entirely in a few cramped spaces. When the walls are closing in and the clock is running, that matters. Having him steer the project as well suggests he’s invested in making this one land.

Real Sets, Real Water

Here’s the part that should get gearheads and practical effects fans excited. In an era when so much of what we see on screen is digital, Elba says this production went a different way. He told Collider that the film was “very practical.” The team built the spacecraft, submerged it in water and shot a large portion of the movie underwater.

That commitment should pay off on screen. Real water, real pressure and a real physical set tend to produce the kind of claustrophobia that effects work struggles to fake. Elba even joked that he’s eager to show audiences he can hold his breath for four minutes, and he insists he’s not kidding.

A Crowded Genre, A Fresh Angle

Survival thrillers set underwater are nothing new. Open Water and 47 Meters Down put characters in the depths with dwindling chances of escape, and Whalefall arrived earlier this month with a similar trapped-and-running-out-of-time energy. What sets Above The Below apart is the crossover, with a space disaster feeding straight into a deep sea nightmare. It’s two flavors of dread in one film.

The trailer runs a little over a minute and a half and sells the intensity well. Early reaction has been curious, with some viewers noting that the footage leaves plenty of mystery about where the story goes.

Mark Your Calendar

Above The Below opens in theaters on December 4th. That puts it right in the holiday window, a good spot for anyone who wants a white-knuckle night out before the year wraps up.

Watch the trailer and let us know what you think of it in the comments section below!