The Black Demon (2023)

The Black Demon takes the familiar “shark movie” thrill ride and drops it onto a rusted, oil-slicked rig where every creak feels like a warning and the ocean itself seems angry, giving the creature-feature formula a grimy, eco-horror edge. Adrian Grünberg keeps the vibe lean and tense, letting the isolation and moral rot of the setting do as much work as the teeth, while Josh Lucas and Fernanda Urrejola sell the danger with a sincerity that makes the suspense land instead of turning into pure camp. There’s a pulpy, old-school genre pleasure here—sharp banter, relentless pressure, and the simple terror of being stranded with something huge circling—but it’s also not shy about grisly imagery and a heavy-handed streak of corporate-greed comeuppance. If you want elevated horror, this may feel blunt; if you want a nasty, entertaining survival thriller with a bite, it’s an easy night at the movies.

The Black Demon clearly wants to be a pulpy “family trapped on an oil rig” survival thriller with an eco-horror message about corporate greed, and that’s a perfectly workable pitch. The problem is it plays far more predictable and preachy than tense, with thin character work and pacing that stretches the setup while the shark action arrives in short, not-especially-satisfying bursts. The CGI and staging often undercut the fear factor, so if you’re coming for a big, brutal creature feature with memorable set pieces, you’ll likely feel shortchanged. Still, the location has a grimy atmosphere and there are a few solid suspense moments, making it best for viewers who can tolerate B-movie logic and just want a modest, one-and-done shark thriller.