Take a deep breath. Whalefall wants to take you further down than you realize.
Directed by Brian Duffield, Whalefall tells the story of Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams), a young man who returns home from college after the death of his father (Josh Brolin) off the central Coast of California. As his family attempts to grieve their loss, Jay becomes determined to find his father’s remains in the underwater cavern. Along his search, Jay is swallowed by a massive sperm whale. Trapped inside its belly with only an hour of oxygen, Jay must face off against his own family struggles in order to make it back to the surface in time.
While Whalefall bills itself as a survival thriller, its far more earnest than expected in its approach. In the marketing, Duffield’s journey into the depths sells itself as a survivalist thriller that pits man against monster.
(L-R): Austin Abrams as Jay Gardiner and Josh Brolin as Mitt Gardiner in 20th Century Studios’ WHALEFALL. © 2026 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
But this isn’t Jaws. In fact, it isn’t even 27 Meters Down.
Instead, Whalefall is as much about the challenges between fathers and sons. Taking a more emotional approach to its storytelling, the film wants to counterbalance the action with a beating heart of emotion.
Admittedly, Whalefall’s premise doesn’t always work. Although Duffield manages to bring the chaos under the sea, one struggles to entirely suspend their disbelief. As Abrams moves about the bowels of his captor, Whalefall stumbles to entirely remove the absurdity of the situation. (This is especially true in one moment that feels as though it was stolen from an Ace Ventura film.)
Still, there are also spaces where I realized that I wasn’t breathing as a viewer. Keeping the camera tightly upon Abrams for much of the runtime, this might be the most claustrophobic film in recent memory. Every camera movement is constricted, as the walls literally begin to close in around Abrams. (As such, the flashbacks even become the audience’s opportunity to catch their own breath.)
And make no mistake. The film doesn’t pull its punches with the gore. Stomach acid, burning flesh, and sharpened claws all up the horror ante when given the opportunity. We’re meant to feel like this would be actually be someone’s experience inside a sperm whale – and Duffield wants the viewer to be rightly disturbed by it.
Even so, Whalefall’s best moments remain above the water. Jay’s ability to survive within the belly of the beast is wholly tied to his complicated relationship with his father. As he (literally) scratches and claws his way through what may be his remaining breaths, his mind drifts back to the father he knew and the relationship he wished he didn’t have.
And these are the moments that keep the film afloat. Brolin and Abrams have delightful tension between them as balance bickering and parental compassion. There’s an honesty in these moments that not only feels authentic, but buoys the entire story. Here, Brolin feels present. He’s furious and foreboding in one moment and gentle in the next. Even when his character borders on toxic, his anger feels rooted in something more. In essence, [most of] these conversations feel genuine as parent and teenager struggle to connect with one another. Here, one is trying to chart his own course and the other is trying to keep them close.
And that feels true to life.
Blended with the film’s survivalist drama, Whalefall uses that emotional core to take some big swings. And, truthfully, some work while others… don’t. Without giving any spoilers, Whalefall uses the conversations between Abrams and Brolin to anchor the film’s wildest moments, allowing for the film to lean into its surprisingly spiritual side.
That tension is also what makes the film so fascinating. Becoming less about the terror of the moment, the film chooses instead to focus on the trauma of loss and dealing with toxic parental figures. There’s a sincerity about this film that should help Jay’s journey to be deeply felt by its audience.
Still, in the end, Whalefall is somewhat of a mixed bag. For some, this sort of ethereal exploration of grief will be a soulful experience. Nevertheless, for those looking for the fun of the battle between predator and prey, Whalefall may take on too much water.
Whalefall is available in theatres on Friday, October 16th, 2026.
