*Dead Sea* is another entry in the "lost at sea" genre, similar to *Life of Pi*, *Open Water*, *Cast Away*, and *Lifeboat*. The story centers on Kaya (Isabel Gravity), a teenager who has taken on more responsibility since her mother's death, looking after her younger brother while their father works long hours.

Kaya's best friend, Tessa (Genneya Walton), convinces her to break free from this routine by going to the beach, where they meet two guys, Julian and Xander. The couples quickly develop romantic connections, and caught up in the excitement, they decide to rent jet skis. However, their blossoming romance fatally distracts one couple, leading to a tragic accident.

Kaya, Tessa, and Xander find themselves stranded at sea, injured and desperate. Just when things seem hopeless, they are rescued by a seemingly good Samaritan named Ray. However, Ray's peculiar behavior soon reveals a darker intent, as what began as a rescue turns into a terrifying game of cat and mouse. Ray is in cahoots with Russell Adams (Brian Silverman), a shady character involved in organ harvesting.

As the group is held captive, awaiting their grim fate, they must find a way to beat the odds, escape, and turn the tables on their captors. Kaya, in particular, fights fiercely for her life, with Isabel Gravity delivering a performance that strives to convey the dire situation and Kaya's transformation into the heroine of the story.

To say this film is predictable is an understatement. Like the day inevitably turning into night, *Dead Sea* follows a familiar formula. It won't be remembered as one of the best or worst films of the year; it's a lost raft at sea, leaving you thinking it could have been either better or worse. This is not a film that will have much rewatch value.

Stumbling upon this 2024 thriller titled "Dead Sea" by random chance, and never having heard about it, I opted to give the movie a chance. I have to admit that the movie's synopsis actually sounded interesting enough.

However, having just sat through the entire 88 minutes that the movie ran for, I was left with an overwhelming sensation of 'was that really it?' when the movie came to an end. The movie starts out quite nicely, with writer and director Phil Volken pushing the movie's momentum forward pretty early on. But there was just something fundamentally important missing from the movie's narrative, and it sort of became bland and irrelevant towards the last quarter of the movie.

The movie has a very small cast ensemble, but leading actress Isabel Gravitt did carry the movie well enough with her performance. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. The acting performances by the cast were good.

There was a little bit of violence in the movie, but nothing noteworthy. "Dead Sea" was not a movie that relied heavily on special effects, and whatever effects were in the movie were actually fair.

"Dead Sea" is by no means a movie that I will return to watch a second time. Nor is it a movie that I will openly recommend people to rush out and get to watch.

My rating of writer and director Phil Volken's 2024 movie lands on a generous four out of ten stars.

Classic super cringe teenage beginning, bland for the most part with no real addition. Even the "survival" aspect of it is cheap. The movie has more shots of the protagonist's ass than actually interesting scenes.

Starts out slow with the usual two girls two guys hooking up kinda thing, connects to teenagers doing dumb, irresponsible stuff in the middle of the ocean, adds in a bit of a "sex predator" charm and tops it off with a weak ending where the protagonist seems to die and lose the pulse but later recover.

Don't waste your time. Any other movie would literally be more entertaining. Lmao.