‘Under Paris’: Can This Horror Fiction Come To Life? Or Did It Ever Come To Life?

Netflix’s smashing hit, ’Under Paris’ is progressing on its way to scare the wits out of its viewers from all across the globe while raising one question.

Image Credit: The Hollywood Reporter

Just like a nightmare looking directly into your eyes in broad daylight can make a person’s mind go blank with fear and confusion, the new streaming hit ‘Under Paris’ is leaving everyone panicky and anxious with its elaborate plot and real-looking visual effects. The movie really makes you wonder what if this happened in real life. The real-looking visuals do not help bring the anxiety level down with this one.

What’s the story of ‘Under Paris’?

The movie directed by Xavier Gens also the maker of ‘Gangs of London’ revolves around an oceanographer starring Bérénice Bejo from ‘The Artist’, playing Sophia a grieving wife and professionally a marine biologist who lost her husband to a mako while they were on a scientific expedition to study the impact of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch on the behavior of sharks. The impact had turned out to be significant as a shark named Lilith had mutated and grown into a monstrous size of 7 meters which may be normal for a Great White but is never possible for a mako. After this incident, the timeline of the film is fast forwarded to 3 years after the accident. The protagonist marine biologist Sophia is seen to be residing in Paris at that time. On the other hand, the mutated monster of 7 meters named Lilith has swam up to the Seine River which flows through the heart of the City of Light, and had camped out in the dark, watery labyrinths underneath the river water. The much more bad news is Lilith not only has grown stupendously but has also acquired the taste of human flesh, especially the French kind.

Any similarities with its predecessors?

Just when you think the situation cannot get any worse, the worst happens. When dead bodies have been washing up on shores with shark bite marks, a triathlon has been arranged. The Mayor resembling the characteristics of the Mayor from the small beach Amity Island which was terrorized by the Great White shark first appearing in Peter Benchley’s novel ‘Jaws’ has no problem arranging the triathlon amidst this dangerous situation. He seems to be reluctant about a few casualties washing up with bite marks. It starts to look like the only level-headed people in this terrifying situation are our grieving oceanographer Sophia, an environmentalist Mika played by Léa Léviant, and a police diver Adil played by Nassim Lyes. The trio is soon found petrified by a discovery of their own. The whole situation got a lot unfortunate when they found that Lilith had reproduced on her own, spawns just like it and they were jumping at the chance of getting humans alive. The viewers can easily imagine themselves in the shoes of the trio and when they do, the first question that will surely emerge in their minds is what if this happens in real life, then what? A little conversation with James Wright, the SEA LIFE London Aquarium Senior Curator can put some light on this matter of fear more or less.

Can ‘Under Paris’ become a reality?

Many viewers had another question regarding this movie, as to whether the movie was based on a true story and Wright exclaimed while saying how it was absolutely impossible as it is completely based on science fiction. The far-fetched science fiction has portrayed the sharks in a very dark aura. According to James, sharks are not mindless killing machines that will jump at the sight of humans as shown in the movie where Lilith and its offspring are seen busy cherishing the sweet flesh of the triathletes. Moreover, Wright adds that sharks have a lateral line going down their body which helps them to sense the change in water pressure and vibrations. Along with this, they have some fluid-filled electroreceptors called the Ampullae of Lorenzini that help them understand if there are any other animals nearby. So a shark which is around hundreds of people will be getting thousands of electrical impulses letting it know about the humans. According to the Senior Curator, if anybody was a shark at that moment they would swim in the opposite direction. The idea of a mako attacking a huge group of people is as far-fetched as the idea of it to grow up to 7 meters as a normal healthy and adult mako can grow up to 13 feet or 3 meters. Wright has expressed that a shark will never be going to pile on hundreds of people swimming.

Is the movie based on a true story?

The movie is far from reality and it can again be proved by the choice of shark as the antagonist of the movie. The choice of a shortfin mako has also surprised James Wright, Senior Curator of London Aquarium as the looks of the shark resemble that of a Great White one but makos do not grow up to that large size and they are in reality very light-weight and fast swimmers. About the makos, Wright said that they are oceangoing pelagic wanderers so even though they are in the water nearby, they tend to travel. The possibility of getting attacked by these is very slim, and even if they attack it will mostly be an attack of defense or confusion according to Wright as they do not have the dentations of a great white shark or a tiger shark to start biting people. Alongside these science fiction parts, some reality is also shown in the movie which eventually makes the movie more believable. The part where Lilith reproduces asexually is in fact true and the process is called parthenogenesis. Along with this the part of the movie showing Lilith swimming up the Seine River can be true too as sharks are often seen swimming in urban waterways for example in some tidal waves in the Brisbane River. But big sharks are not seen in less salinated waters which are found in European rivers like Thame, and the Seine. Wright stated that the predator is heavily influenced by visuals which is why it will not swim into dark, muddy, and cloudy rivers which a bull shark will.

So in conclusion it can be safely said that the chance of ‘Under Paris’ happening in real life is zero. But this news should get the audience motivated enough to try out the movie as it is becoming a hit day by day. Viewers are advised to enjoy the movie with a good scare that will leave the audience thrilled and anxious at the end.

Edith Slocum

I am Edith Slocum and I have over 16 years experience in the financial services industry giving me a vast understanding of how news affects the financial markets. I am an active day trader spending the majority of my time analyzing earnings reports and watching commodities and derivatives. I have a Masters Degree in Economics from Westminster University with previous roles counting Investment Banking. <strong>Address:</strong> 4510 Sigley Road, Salina, KS 67401, USA <strong>Phone:</strong> (+1) 785-534-9610 <strong>Email:</strong> [email protected]

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