Synopsis
Under Paris is a 2024 French eco-thriller and disaster horror film from director Xavier Gens. The story unfolds in the heart of Paris, where a colossal shark named Lilith swims upstream, traveling from the Pacific Ocean to the Seine River. Marine biologist Sophia Assalas is dragged back into the fight for survival when the city is about to host a major triathlon in the very waters now ruled by the apex predator.
Still haunted by the loss of her husband and her research crew in a previous encounter with Lilith, Sophia ignores her trauma when a team of young environmental activists spots the shark on a camera feed. Mika, the team’s leader, calls her for help, and Sophia, torn but duty-bound, teams up with river police officer Adil. Together they trace Lilith through the turbid, overheated river, where global warming and ecological collapse have given the shark a brand-new, man-made paradise.
Tension builds when city leaders, led by the Paris mayor, refuse to pull the plug on the high-stakes triathlon that lures talent and global press. Sophia warns them, yet the race rolls on, and the strikes hit. Swimmers are bitten, panic spreads, and the Seine turns into a feeding ground.Officials flounder, and Sophia’s team scrambles to draft a kill order before the death count rises.
The final showdown drops into the dark, endless Paris catacombs. The shark’s nest of eggs glows, a new wave of terror already hatching. Sophia rigs charges to cage Lilith, but the detonators go wild and a city block detonates. The image that cuts to black: a Paris underwater, sirens howling, and sharks gliding through the boulevards. Lilith’s brood has broken free, a grim hint of a sequel.
Main Cast and Characters
Bérénice Bejo as Sophia Assalas: A marine biologist haunted by an old loss and a love-hate bond with the sea. Hard as coral, brittle with memories, she is pulled by remorse and a stubborn code to protect.
Cast Highlights
Nassim Lyes as Adil: A river patrol officer with his feet on the ground and a calendar of river exams in his head, Adil first hears Sophia’s alarm and shrugs. But a day later, in the murky river, he is the one who spots the first flash of predator teeth. Those teeth turn his disbelief to focus, and soon he is Sophia’s quickest partner on the water.
Léa Léviant as Mika: Mika loves the river, and for her, every algae bloom is a press release. When she posts a photo of a strange fin, the hashtags travel faster than the glide of the river patrol. She didn’t mean to, but the isotope in the photo points straight to Lilith’s lair.
Anne Marivin as the Mayor of Paris: In the marble corridors of the Hôtel de Ville, she adjusts her lapel pin and speaks of “Paris” like it is a designer gown. She defers the warning sirens and orders an extra light show on the Seine. When the fin rises between the neon bridges, the gown gets stained and the camera keeps rolling.
Support Cast: A choir of fit-voiced triathletes, tight-lipped government aides, scientists with river maps, and activists wearing recycled wetsuits. They share the same river, the same gasp, and the same hashtag as Lilith collects her toll.
Production Notes
Under Paris was shot on the cobblestones of the Seine, in the quiet echo of the catacombs, and on the dried banks where the light is too blue. The crew balanced live stunt rigs with digital fins that bite the shot in the same breath. The underwater ballet and the final rush through water-lipped boulevards are the kind of ambition that usually needs a Hollywood budget and a ten-lane cable car. Paris gave them a river and a city that rises to the challenge.
With a budget of nearly 20 million euros, the film doesn’t shy away from its genre roots, yet it weaves in urgent commentary on the environment. Director Xavier Gens—already celebrated for tight horror and high-octane thrillers—set out to deliver a creature feature that doubles as a warning about climate change and the perils of governmental neglect.
The screenplay, crafted by a collaborative team, stitches together horror, sci-fi, political satire, and character-driven drama. While the shark commands the screen as the visible threat, the real suspense blooms from the human characters and their ethical blind spots and disastrous choices.
Themes and Symbolism
The film works as both a crowd-pleaser and a wake-up call. Lilith, the raging predator, becomes an avatar of the Earth pushing back against human greed. The story lambasts dumping waste, encroaching urban sprawl, and climate change that turns a coastal creature into a river-dwelling terror.
Equally present is a critique of political hubris. The mayor is a living emblem of bureaucratic apathy and the obsession with appearances, mirroring real-life leaders who ignore scientific counsel to save face. The refusal to cancel the triathlon—despite mounting evidence that a killer shark now patrols the course—forms the film’s moral and dramatic nucleus.
Under Paris delves into trauma and the weight of personal responsibility through Sophia. Her choice to re-enter the field after losing her family mirrors the movie’s larger theme of facing past failings—both the ones we own and the ones we share as a society.
Reception and Audience Response
When the film dropped on a major streaming service, it shot to the top of the charts as one of the summer’s most-watched international titles. Critics came in slightly divided but mostly positive. They praised the film’s originality, snap pacing, and the raw emotional range of Bérénice Bejo. On the flip side, some flagged the visual effects, pointing to jarring CGI and a few rough-cut transitions.
Viewers relished the cocktail of horror, tension, and disaster. The image of the Seine’s flooded streets in the last act hit hard, warping a beloved city into a surreal, drowning nightmare. The twist ending, which hints at future chapters, landed as both a jolt and a tease, marking the movie as a bold entry in the shark subgenre.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths:
- Fresh location: A shark stalking the Seine flips the creature feature on its head.
- Towering lead turn from Bérénice Bejo.
- Savvy mix of nail-biting suspense, action beats, and political undercurrents.
Highlights:
The film finds its pulse in two explosive sequences: the claustrophobic chase through the Paris catacombs and the nerve-wracking final leg of a night-time triathlon.
Room for Improvement:
Certain CGI shots, especially the sweeping wide-angles of the shark, lack the polish of the close-ups. A handful of side characters—like the triathlon team coach—never fully flesh out. The political jabs land with a loud clang, so some may wish for a lighter touch.
Wrap-Up:
Under Paris dares to swim against the current. By anchoring its predator in a city famous for art rather than ocean, and by threading in urgent climate questions, the film recharges the shark thriller. The last act feels like a fever dream and the social undercurrents give the bite some teeth.
You can watch it as a warning about warming seas, a sideways look at bureaucracy, or simply as a sweaty-hands survival ride. Either way, the last flash of a dorsal fin beneath a bridge suggests the city’s new nightmare has barely started. For anyone who thinks the genre is out of breath, Under Paris shows the waters are still churning.
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