"Quicksand" (2023)

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s the English-language Colombian film Quicksand, a Shudder Original survival thriller directed by Andres Beltan and written by Matt Pitts, and starring Carolina Gaitàn, Allan Hawco, and Sebastian Eslava.

Synopsis

A married couple on the brink of divorce become trapped in quicksand while hiking through a rainforest in Colombia. They will battle the elements of the jungle and must work together in order to survive.

The Good

Joseph: When I was a young ‘un, I loved quicksand scenes in movies — most often in jungle adventure or horror films — and have been longing for this fun trope to be used once again. Enter Quicksand, which doesn't merely settle for a few minutes of characters being mired in the titular stuff. Rather than it being merely one of many trials that a jungle hero or heroine had to overcome or the denouement of a villain, as in the past, Beltan’s film places a married couple on the verge of divorce neck deep in the stuff. Gaitàn as Sofia and Hawco as Josh give solid portrayals of their sparring marital partner characters, and Beltan invests the film with a good deal of suspense, though some of the couple’s ideas border on the absurd.

Mike: There was a time when I was a kid back in the 70s when the thought of being stuck in quicksand was one of my worst fears, above things like needles in Halloween candy, the Bermuda Triangle, and Sleestaks. Quicksand was EVERYWHERE, man. It was such a danger that it even oozed its way into family friendly TV shows like when Gilligan and his fellow castaways dealt with it and Batman and Robin got stuck in it. We won’t even mention movies since we’d need to list probably every Tarzan flick and then some.

Anyway, point being that if you’re of a certain age quicksand is something to fear and be wary of, no matter where you are. So when a bickering couple hikes out into the Colombian rainforest you know what might be lurking right past the next tree (that and the movie is called Quicksand, so that DOES sort of prepare you). Carolina Gaitàn and Allan Hawco as the couple (Sofia and Josh) give it their all, making the most of the script by Matt Pitts. Andres Beltan does a good job of making us feel claustrophobic despite being outside as the couple struggles to make even the smallest of movements while stuck in the mire.

The Bad

Joseph: Viewers are told early on by Josh that he and Sofia can’t be sucked under by the quicksand, ignoring the time-honored cinematic tradition of that not being true and giving the couple — and viewers — one less thing to be concerned about. That’s not the only problem with the film, though, as it basically spoon-feeds how the improbable climax will go down early on, and anyone guessing that there might be a consideration of reconciliation on the part of the marriage partners while on the verge of death is a couple of steps ahead of the screenplay, too. As if a boa constrictor would not be dangerous enough, Quicksand makes the serpent venomous, as well, though the poor beast might suffer from bad eyesight, based on the “snake’s eye view cam” shots.

Mike: Any latent fears of quicksand that a viewer may have (and after seeing The Chief, 99, and Maxwell Smart stuck in it once, those fears could be palpable), are dashed when Josh debunks the “sink into the netherworld” misconception right away. So, since Sofia’s unexplained spite towards her husband isn’t enough of a threat, a giant, venomous python is thrown into the equation. It should be noted the inclusion of a “snake-cam” brought a welcome chuckle to ease the vice-like tension that was mounting as a result of Sofia discovering Josh had started drinking again (honestly, I don’t blame him, considering).

Add in some convenient plot devices and bad decisions and there’s a pretty good chance you’ll wish maybe you had your own hole of quicksand you could retreat into. Since you probably don’t, you can at least rest assured that every direction you think the film will go in does nothing to prove you wrong and ends exactly how you think it might.

The Verdict

Joseph: How much you might enjoy Quicksand will likely depend largely on how much you become invested in the characters of Sofia and Josh. Regular readers of The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict know that I am not a big fan of merely placing two characters in a single space and having them argue for the majority of the film, and that’s what we have here (though to be fair, the bickering takes place in a few different tight spaces). That said, overall I feel the film is an entertaining enough watch to give it a recommendation for Shudder subscribers.

Mike: Being afraid of quicksand as a kid back when quicksand was a go-to trope of danger is understandable but being subjected to Quicksand as an adult is worse. I’m not sure how it’s possible to take something that was once perceived as such a terrifying threat, and totally neuter it so any tension that could have been a result of seeing two people stuck in it isn’t salvageable even after a giant snake is introduced, but Beltan and Pitts have done so.

Is this a bad movie? Yes. Is it a horrible movie? No. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go watch David Banner get out of some quicksand by doing the smart thing and turning into the Incredible Hulk.

Quicksand, from Shudder, is available on the streaming service as of July 14, 2023.

Quicksand