The Requin (2022) – A Struggle for Survival Amid Shark-Infested Waters
The Requin (2022), directed and written by Le-Van Kiet, is a psychological survival thriller that plunges viewers into the terrifying vastness of the open sea. Starring Alicia Silverstone in a rare dramatic role, the film combines emotional trauma with primal fear, exploring themes of grief, guilt, and the human instinct to survive in the face of nature’s most unforgiving forces. While marketed as a shark thriller, The Requin is as much about emotional survival as it is about physical endurance.
The story centers on Jaelyn (Silverstone) and her husband Kyle (James Tupper), a couple trying to repair their marriage and emotional connection after a devastating personal loss. Seeking solace, they travel to a remote luxury resort in Vietnam, hoping that time away in paradise will help heal their emotional wounds. However, their peaceful retreat quickly becomes a nightmare when a tropical storm violently tears their overwater villa away from its moorings and sends them adrift into the vast ocean.
As they float further from shore, with limited supplies and no way to call for help, their situation becomes increasingly desperate. The ocean is merciless, and when sharks begin circling their ruined platform, the couple's fragile sense of hope dissolves into a terrifying fight for survival. What follows is a tense and emotionally charged battle against isolation, exposure, injury—and the ever-present threat lurking beneath the surface.
Alicia Silverstone delivers a surprisingly strong and emotionally raw performance as Jaelyn. She portrays a woman wrestling with grief and guilt, while simultaneously drawing on a well of inner strength to survive unimaginable circumstances. Her transformation from vulnerable and unsure to fierce and determined forms the emotional core of the film. James Tupper provides solid support as Kyle, though the focus remains squarely on Jaelyn’s journey—both physical and psychological.
Director Le-Van Kiet, known for his work on Furie (2019), applies a minimalistic approach to storytelling here. The majority of the film takes place in isolation, with wide ocean vistas creating a sense of insignificance and dread. The cinematography captures both the beauty and terror of the sea—serene one moment, savagely unpredictable the next. The visual effects are occasionally uneven, particularly in the shark sequences, but the emotional stakes often outweigh any technical imperfections.
What distinguishes The Requin from more conventional shark thrillers is its emotional subtext. The threat of the sharks is real, but equally important is Jaelyn’s internal battle—coming to terms with trauma and deciding whether she has the will to keep going. The film taps into the universal fear of being alone, helpless, and forgotten, and it layers that fear with the complexities of human emotion.
In conclusion, The Requin is a stripped-down survival film that blends genre tension with psychological depth. While it doesn’t reinvent the shark thriller, it offers a character-driven narrative anchored by a strong central performance from Alicia Silverstone. For viewers drawn to survival stories that emphasize emotional resilience as much as physical peril, The Requin is a gripping, if modest, addition to the genre.
