Above & Below (2026) Review: Story, Verdict & Where to Watch

A Vacation Gone Wrong: Premise and Promise

“Above & Below” starts with a peaceful trip for a group of friends that quickly changes to survival in open water with no way out, one of the many genres this film dives into. Jesse V. Johnson, the director, attempts to sail this ship in multiple genres as a writer and director, but this type of project is ambitious. The idea is that the lead characters enjoy a party, and not realizing the rave is a trap, end up sailing in very dangerous waters. This is a wonderful idea to bring the survival genre with a rave to an even higher level of suspense and thriller. Unfortunately, this story has director’s worst nightmare, and the plot loses its way. There is a lot of unnatural buildup of suspense that is soon lost. If this film managed to keep the ideas mentioned throughout in focus, it could be a success. Unfortunately a combination of genres this is, the film loses focus very quickly.

This film tries to offer a fresh threat in criminals setting sail to attack instead of standard monster weapons. But whether this approach is useful remains to be seen. This story doesn’t use standard tropes of horror, where people die to things that go bump in the night. The horror in this case is the struggle of ordinary people on vacation against terrible criminals, of which the audience is voyeurs. Unfortunately, the effect isn't as powerful as you would expect. This film would be better with less fantasy and more reality.

Navigating Choppy Waters: Direction and Pacing

Above & Below shows Jesse V. Johnson's struggle to create a fully immersive horror experience. Most critics agree that imaginative gap and pacing issues plague the film. At only one hour and thirty-six minutes, the run time should accommodate a tight, thrilling film. Instead, critics noted that the film has a draw-out runtime. The beginning is noted as overstaying its welcome as the friends take their carefree vacation. The slow build intended to create the horror air around the film instead has audiences bored with the late action.

The performances by Laura Marano, Christina Ochoa, and Mario Tardón have been noted as competent and not sticking out and likely suffer from the restrictive nature of the script. Strong performances from the main characters also help the audience connect to the situation and character struggle. If performances connect with the audience and fail to draw the audience in with their performances, the emotional response to the struggle the characters are in isn't there. The intermittent positive comments shows that the film has solid entertainment and thriller filmmaking moments, but the plot issues overwhelm this and offer a lack of entertainment to the audience.

Who Should Take the Plunge, and Who Should Stay Ashore?

"Above & Below" is a film with a specific audience in mind. Dedicated fans of low-budget action-thrillers who can look past glaring plot gaps to enjoy the occasional genre thrills may get some entertainment out of this film. Fans of the audacity of mixing crime and open-water horror, regardless of how well (or in this case poorly) it's done, may get something to dig into. It may even appeal to fans of the genre who get a kick out of seeing genres tweaked with a sense of 'different' pattern, albeit in a nonsensical way, more often than not. If you're a fan of Jesse V. Johnson's films, you may want to check this out just to see how he's interpreted a more suspenseful, multi-genre type of narrative.

Even so, those wanting a cinematic story that’s tightly paced, thrilling, and makes sense will probably be disappointed by this film. Those things people want in a film? High stakes? Believable emotional and physical reactions? New ways of presenting a story? People watching this film will probably get pretty aggravated and frustrated a lot. Tedious, nonsensical media that’s lacking in screen tension requires quit a lot of patience and a looming absence of expectation as far as sense goes. "Above & Below" currently has an audience rating of 6.2, which places it pretty much right in the center, and means that while still a fair amount of people probably liked it, a lot of people probably did not. If you’re at the very least wanting some suspenseful thriller, you’re probably better off with one of the many other offerings on CocoFlix. If you’re in this genre to relax or just tune out, or if you’re a genre aficionado, then this is at least worth checking out.