QUICKSAND -- Shudder Originals are a More Painful Type of Suffering

Review by Joseph Fayed

Carolina Gaitan as “Sofia” in Andres Beltran’s QUICKSAND. Courtesy of Shudder and Manuel Olarte. A Shudder release.

One of my greatest fears is being trapped in quicksand. Another one of my fears is being trapped there with my soon to be ex. My biggest fear, though, would be if someone made a painfully boring film based on these fears, as is the case with Quicksand. 

The film follows Sofia and Josh, who are on the brink of divorce, as they travel to Colombia for a work conference. While on a hike through the rainforest, a storm causes them to become trapped in a pit of quicksand. Unable to move, it becomes a struggle for survival as they battle the elements of the jungle to escape. 

Their struggles — marital or caused by the quicksand — are simply underdeveloped. Suffering from unimaginable pain is not a plot device, but that is what we see for 85 minutes. This type of suffering exists to carry the film from one scene to the next. One particular example includes an invasive species that early on causes a severe injury to Sofia. In an effort to save Sofia, Josh unintentionally reveals a secret he had been keeping. There are hints at the secret previously, nor mention of it later. If it were better explained, this secret could provide a better look at why this couple is deciding to divorce. 

Carolina Gaitan as “Sofia” in Andres Beltran’s QUICKSAND. Courtesy of Shudder and Manuel Olarte. A Shudder release.

The physical threats Sofia and Josh face are nothing that hasn't been seen in a survival thriller before. It is frustrating that the characters' strengths don't present them with a new challenge. Their backgrounds as doctors reduce the stress and intensity that we normally associate with fighting for survival. The two of them have the knowledge to survive their surroundings, and despite their panic, crisis is averted. The cast does a good job acting fearful, but even watching them go full panic mode won't grasp your interest. Certain themes the film could have played into, such as isolation and regret, were largely ignored in favor of pain and suffering, which didn't intensify the plot at all. 

Quicksand tells a sequence of events in a fight for survival. However, someone who has watched anything related to being lost in the woods could tell exactly what that sequence of events was going to be. Calling this a thriller, as any twists and turns it has to offer must have gotten lost in the Colombian rainforest. Two uninteresting protagonists bury the film deeper than this repetitive plot does. If the biggest takeaway is that Sofia and Josh always had each other, then I wonder how we got here. I didn't even shudder once while watching this Shudder original, how disappointing.

Quicksand is now streaming on Shudder.  

Rating: 1/5​