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Jeff Wadlow’s The Devil’s Mouth Debuts on Prime Video to Mixed Reviews

The film's July 29 release during Shark Week tests whether a character-focused cave-shark thriller can succeed on streaming despite critics’ doubts about execution.

Overview

  • The Devil’s Mouth premiered on Prime Video on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, as a direct-to-streaming shark thriller timed to coincide with Shark Week.
  • The premise follows recent college graduates trapped in a flooded Thai cave system where a bull shark that can tolerate fresh water becomes their predator.
  • Critics widely praise Kathryn Newton and Lana Condor for grounding the movie with a tense, codependent friendship that provides the film’s emotional core.
  • Reviewers who disliked the film point to limp supporting characters, slow pacing, unconvincing CGI and a PG-13 rating that limits on-screen brutality, and they note the film uses map overlays to help viewers track the cave geography.
  • The script began life on the 2019 Black List as Apex and was reworked and relocated from Mexico to Thailand, and its straight-to-streaming release highlights how genre films now aim for seasonal audience grabs rather than theatrical runs.