Whalefall Review – Austin Abrams Is Even Better Than in Resident Evil, and This Film Is Far Scarier

In 2026, Austin Abrams made all the right headlines for his performance as Bryan Hodukavich in Resident Evil [96% on Rotten Tomatoes]. What if I were to tell you that Abrams is even better in Whalefall? 

Jay Gardiner (Abrams) had a contentious relationship with his father, Mitt (Josh Brolin). After Mitt steps off a boat and disappears into the ocean, Jay decides to search for his father’s remains. He goes scuba diving in the area in which his father disappeared, but his plans for a final goodbye become intertwined in a battle between a giant squid and sperm whale. In the ensuing chaos, Jay gets swallowed by the whale. With his oxygen depleting, Jay needs to find a way to survive his current circumstances and plan an escape when death seems more probable.

Based on Daniel Kraus’ 2023 book of the same name, the script was co-written by Kraus and director Brian Duffield. It must have been a tall order to adapt, because while the book is able to narrate the events unfolding, Abrams’ Jay needs to sell the story and emotion without saying too many words. Fortunately, Whalefall has a talented actor at the wheel who’s able to do a lot with very little. 

Jay goes through the most inside the whale, facing off against the giant squid and swimming through the whale’s stomach acid. Abrams hooks himself into every one of these scenes, selling the terror and making you feel every broken bone, cut, and burn he experiences. Every reaction and twitch of his is timed to perfection – and not over the top – while Joseph Trapanese’s score channels the classics of the past (think Jaws and Alien as prime examples) to suck you into the suffocating tension and dread.

It must be said that this isn’t the story of Jonah or Pinocchio inside a whale, though. This isn’t Jay sitting on a piece of wood and trying to find his way out; he’s in peril from the get-go until the end. Whalefall is bloody and gory, showcasing how the underwater world can be unforgiving and terrifying. In fact, there are scenes here that are way more frightening than Abrams’ last horror film, Resident Evil.

Having said that, Whalefall isn’t 106 minutes of Jay fighting his way through a whale’s digestive system. The horror is broken up by memories of his and Mitt’s relationship, exploring the highs and lows of their tumultuous time as father and son.

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It’s here that Whalefall falls into the trap that so many Hollywood dramas do, waving away parental toxicity as simply a misunderstanding between generations. Mitt isn’t a good father; he humiliates and breaks down his son, and it’s easy to see why Jay walked away when he did. Sure, it’s expected that Jay will have complicated emotions about his father, especially since they didn’t make amends before his death, but let’s not pretend that a few lessons about the ocean, whales, and scuba diving make him a father-of-the-year contender. 

Coupled with this, Whalefall sinks ever so slightly in its third act, especially as Jay and Mitt’s dynamic receives an even weirder layer. I don’t want to spoil anything here, but the story would have been stronger had it alluded to some things rather than turning them into something that could have been straight out of The Lion King, with Mufasa guiding the adult Simba through voiceovers. You know, the classic storytelling adage of “show, don’t tell.”

Part survival thriller, part heartbreaking exploration of grief when words have been left unspoken, Whalefall establishes itself as one of the most bizarrely brilliant blockbusters in ages. It also confirms that Austin Abrams is a star whose stock must be flying high in Hollywood right now.

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Whalefall is playing exclusively in theaters from October 16.