Quicksand – Shudder Review (2/5)

QUICKSAND on Shudder is a new thriller with intense moments of horror as an estranged married couple is trapped in quicksand. Also, there’s a snake! The runtime is just 86 minutes, which works in its favor. Read our full Quicksand movie review here!

QUICKSAND is a new Shudder survival thriller. One that features both the title element and a snake. All take place in a rainforest in Colombia. It has the intensity that a (mostly) one-location plot requires, but I also found a few things irritating. Some can be explained by the characters panicking – but not all.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH…

The Swedish Netflix series which has a very different story and topic >

For the record, this is an English-language film as the married couple trapped together have been living in the US. The wife is originally Colombian while the husband is American, so they speak English. And yes, there is quite a bit of dialogue as the estranged married couple are forced to work together to survive.

Continue reading our Quicksand movie review below. Find it on Shudder from July 14, 2023.

The perfect setting for a survival thriller

In this survival thriller, we really do get a perfect setting for the story. While on a hike through the rainforest, a storm (and someone wanting to rob them) forces an estranged married couple to hurry back. On their way out of the rainforest, they come across quicksand and end up trapped there.

Being trapped and unable to move becomes a much bigger issue, when they realize a venomous snake has a nest full of eggs near them.

The Shudder original is shot entirely in Bogota, Colombia, which was a cool detail. Also, I liked the backstory of them being there for a work conference. As they’re trapped and forced to both talk and work together to survive, we learn a lot more about them both.

However, from start to finish, I could not help but think that they should’ve been able to get out. The quicksand they’re trapped in is a very small area, and every time we saw it from a distance, I got irritated that they didn’t try more. Also, one of them is a doctor, but their actions sure don’t seem to show this.

I have never seen a knife that poorly cleaned and prepped before. Good Lord, at least make an effort and get someone on set who can help make it real. My mom is a nurse and she would’ve been yelling at the screen during certain scenes – much like I did.

Carolina Gaitán and Allan Hawco are strong leads

Putting aside my irritation for certain actions by the characters, I found Carolina Gaitán and Allan Hawco to be strong leads. You’ll feel for them both at different times and – as more details are revealed – get a better understanding of what went wrong.

Carolina Gaitán (Encanto, Narcos) and Allan Hawco (Jack Ryan) work remarkably well in the quicksand. Also, perhaps most importantly, their chemistry works. Both as two people who once loved each other and is now struggling, and as people who fundamentally know each other.

As a survival thriller, it does have a few weak moments. However, as an overall interesting and fascinating watch, it works thanks to the actors. For me, it’s just a few moments that felt a bit too forced (in terms of the thriller element) that brought it down a bit.

Watch Quicksand on Shudder or AMC+

The Shudder Original film is directed by Andrés Beltrán (Tarumama) and was written by Matt Pitts (Westworld). It was shot entirely in Colombia and was produced by Sangre Films – a joint venture between Colombian outfit Elemental Stories and U.S. companies 222 Pictures and Dawn’s Light Movies.

While this Shudder survival thriller is mostly in English, it does very much feel like a Colombian production. Both due to the setting and the Spanish that is spoken throughout.

In a US production, everyone would have been speaking English – even native Spanish-speaking people among themselves. Okay, not definitely, but my experience tells me this is very likely.

If you enjoy survival thrillers and don’t suffer too much from claustrophobia or have a fear of snakes, you should definitely check this out on Shudder. In fact, maybe you should watch it even more if you do have a fear of enclosed spaces or snakes. When things get a bit slow (and they do), you’ll still be high on your fear of their circumstances.

Quicksand has its exclusive streaming debut on Shudder on July 14, 2023. It will also be available to stream on AMC+.

Details

Director: Andrés Beltrán
Writer: Matt Pitts
Cast: Carolina Gaitán, Allan Hawco, Sebastian Eslava, Andrés Castañeda