When is a genre movie not a genre movie?
When the dramatic element isn’t all blood and gore but the bond between a son and his crusty Pa.
“Whalefall,” based on the novel by Daniel Kraus, looks like a fascinating spin on the body horror craze. A young man is swallowed whole by a sperm whale and must find a way out before the creature’s stomach acids get the better of him.
Ewww.
Except the film is really about a man coming to grips with his father’s death. That isn’t just a neat little aside in a B-movie plot. It’s the driving force behind “Whalefall.” And boy, is it effective.
“Resident Evil” alum Austin Abrams stars as Jay, a young man coming back home for his father’s wake. That’s Mitt (Josh Brolin), a cranky diver who had a lousy way of showing affection to his children.
He was quick to anger and cutting, the kind of dad whose affection flowed from harsh life lessons. Think the “rub some dirt in it” brand of parenthood.
But even less touchy-feely.
Mitt had an incurable illness, which explained why he drowned himself rather than slowly succumb to the illness. Now, Jay wants to find his father’s remains, that empty casket weighing heavily on his heart.
His scuba diving efforts are cut short when he swims too close to a massive sperm whale. The creature swallows him whole, leaving him alive but trapped within the belly of the beast.
Literally.
All the while, memories of his father flood his senses, bringing both regret and a flicker of survival tips.
“Whalefall” stages the internal whale sequences with alarming skill, all the better due to the remarkable sound design in play. Yes, we have no clue what it might actually look or sound like to be trapped in a whale’s gut, but what we see and hear in “Whalefall” still astounds.
But only for a while.
The sequences are cringe-worthy and fascinating at first. Jay is so helpless within the sea creature, so out of his element, that even tiny measures to stay alive feel profound. The scenes still take us nowhere, from a narrative point of view.
Is he moving up, down, left or right? Is the whale’s blowhole his final destination, or is he trying for some other form of escape?
Those inner whale sequences pack some curious appeal. What would you do if stuck in that seemingly hopeless situation? How would the whale’s digestive system attack you, starting with any exposed skin?
Michael Packard, 62, is perhaps the only person in recorded history who can weigh in with any real authority on the new film “Whalefall,” in which Austin Abrams plays a scuba diver trying to do what Packard did in 2021: escape from inside a whale. https://t.co/0ildVZufC8 https://t.co/JGoK8LiABK
— CNN (@CNN) October 15, 2026
Director Brian Duffield (“Spontaneous”) can’t make the sequences matter sequentially. And we’re left with a mostly voice-less protagonist whose thoughts we can only imagine.
That stalls a movie that comes back to life with every flashback. That’s where Brolin scores as Mitt, a man who expected life to bend to his strong will. It didn’t work that way, and that enraged him.
Still, that father/son bond proves potent, thanks to two actors who understand the gritty parts of dysfunctional family life.
Jay’s plight serves up some head-scratching moments, the kind that a B-movie can easily chase away. “Whalefall” aspires to something more human, and that dichotomy often hurts the film.
Abrams just essentially carried parts of “Resident Evil” on his modest shoulders. He does so once more here, becoming the only character through large stretches of the film.
Sorry, the whale doesn’t count.
He’s endearing and relatable, a heartsick son scrambling to honor his late father’s wisdom. The flashback structure gets us out of the whale’s tummy for just enough time to process the raw fear Jay experiences, and it builds Mitt’s character, piece by piece.
“Whalefall” might be one of the most original stories of 2026, an ode to family disguised as a grindhouse thriller. You’ll cringe more than once, but by the end audiences might text their fathers for an overdue chat.
HiT or Miss: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Genre: Thriller/adventure
Runtime: 1 hour, 46 minutes
Where to Watch: In theaters Oct. 16
Family Friendly? PG-13 –(Disturbing imagery, adult language, peril and gorey sequences