By Corey Plante Published Jul 29, 2026, 12:00 AM EDT Reviews A codependent friendship gives this claustrophobic shark thriller some surprising emotional bite
Image: Amazon Studios There’s something deeply relatable about a passive, people-pleasing introvert somehow becoming BFFs with an extrovert who dubs themselves “The CEO of Fun.” No matter which side of this friendship you’re on, you can understand the draw these kinds of people have on one another. The former needs someone to drag them out of their shell, and when an extrovert gets paired up with an introvert like that, they often dial the gregariousness up to 11 to balance things out.
The last thing I expected from Amazon’s new shark movie was for it to meditate upon this exact kind of often toxic codependent relationship. Long before a bull shark gets dumped into a freshwater tunnel system in Thailand and starts mauling tourists, The Devil’s Mouth is already simmering with tension between best friends Max (Lana Condor) and Sara (Kathryn Newton). The origin story of their friendship is a complex one, and the relationship already feels strained when they start their once-in-a-lifetime vacation fresh out of college with three other chums: Max’s boyfriend James, along with another couple, Greg and Adrienne. (While Sara is ostensibly a fifth wheel, she and Max’s bond is the strongest connection on display.)
Out today on Prime Video, The Devil’s Mouth is directed by Jeff Wadlow, who's made a career out of slick, high-concept genre movies (usually horror ) that often crumple under the weight of cumbersome mythology. (The Rotten Tomatoes scores across his filmography does not inspire hope.) I have fond memories of watching his feature-length debut Cry Wolf (2005), a teen slasher based on the Mafia/Cry Wolf party game that's secretly more elaborate and psychologically nasty than its B-movie skin suggests. There are echoes of that complexity lurking underneath it all in The Devil’s Mouth , which boasts a screenplay by Aja Gabel and Myung Joh Wesner that appeared on the 2019 Black List under its original title, Apex .
That original script had some noteworthy differences. For one thing, its female leads were frenemies trapped in a love triangle, allowing old tensions and power struggles to resurface while they fought to survive once the bull shark shows up. Apex was also set in Mexico, which only reinforces the suspicion that The Devil’s Mouth uses Thailand largely as exotic set dressing. Beyond some beautiful establishing shots and the presence of an exceedingly charming local guide named Wat ( The White Lotus ’ Tayme Thapthimthong), the story could happen inside virtually any similar cave system. Yet these particular caves are beautiful enough to make you want to plan a vacation, even though you know there’s a shark about to show up.
Gabel and Wesner retain sole writing credits on The Devil’s Mouth and refined the character dynamics and motivations of its leads. After the death of her father, Sara spiraled into depression and almost dropped out of college. Max rose to the occasion and became something between a best friend, surrogate sister, and overbearing parent. Sara loves Max for saving her life, but she also seems to resent the permanent claim Max now seems to have over her. At the start of the movie, Sara appears ready to move on. Exploring the cave system that her late father once called life-changing is positioned as some kind of closure for the darkest chapter of Sara’s life.…