'Whalefall' Review: Austin Abrams is swallowed by a sperm whale in immersive survival drama

Talk about a nightmare come to life. If you have an overwhelming fear of the ocean or being eaten by a whale, perhaps "Whalefall" isn't for you.But if you can stomach, well, being in the stomach of one of Earth's biggest mammals for about 90 minutes, you're in for a whale of a time. "Whalefall," adapted from the 2023 novel by Daniel Kraus, follows Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams), a college student haunted by the passing of his cancer-stricken estranged father Mitt (Josh Brolin).

Mitt, an enthusiastic but erratic scuba diver, had committed suicide by sinking himself in the water off the California coast. ‘THE SOCIAL RECKONING’ REVIEW: ZUCKERBERG, FACEBOOK ARE THE ENEMY IN PREACHY SLOP DISGUISED AS JOURNO DRAMAAustin Abrams as Jay Gardiner in 20th Century Studios' "Whalefall." ( 2026 20th Century Studios.All Rights Reserved.)Feeling guilty about leaving home and not being there for his father's final moments, Jay commits himself to finding his father's remains underwater.However, Jay's search is upended when he's swallowed by a giant sperm whale.For the rest of the film, Jay is literally fighting for his life with less than an hour's worth of oxygen in his tank as he attempts to escape from the belly of the beast, which sometimes involves fighting other creatures, including a giant squid the whale also swallowed.

Throughout the ordeal, the film flashes back to his tumultuous relationship with his father.DIGGER REVIEW: TOM CRUISE DESTROYS THE PLANET IN ALEJANDRO IÑÁRRITU'S GRANDIOSE, MESSY POLITICAL SATIREAustin Abrams as Jay Gardiner in 20th Century Studios' "Whalefall." ( 2026 20th Century Studios.All Rights Reserved.)Austin Abrams has certainly been getting his reps in as a leading man with his other movie, "Resident Evil," still performing well at the box office.

There's just something inherently likable about him that will have audiences wanting to root for him, which works in this underdog, truly David vs.Goliath story. Brian Duffield, who previously w...