Movies News Talk
12 Feet Deep tells the story of sisters Jonna and Bree trapped under the cover of a public pool. The movie's ending reveals what happens to both girls and what the experience means for their lives going forward.
While inspecting the fiberglass cover for weak spots, Bree and Jonna find a small hole. Bree realizes the pool grate is loose enough to ram through the hole, hopefully widening it so they can escape. But when Bree's health begins to rapidly decline, Jonna musters up the courage to dive to the bottom of the pool and retrieve the grate. She's able to ram it through the cover's existing hole, widening it and pulling Bree and herself to safety.
Bree reveals she was diagnosed with diabetes a few years back. Trapped in the pool, her blood sugar is rapidly declining. Without regularly taking her insulin shot, she'll fall into a diabetic coma. In 12 Feet Deep's final act, Bree periodically begins to lose consciousness, until it appears she's fallen into the coma. That's when Jonna's heroism kicks in, and she retrieves the pool grate in the knick of time. Bree receives medical attention when they're free.
Clara the janitor is fired for attempting to steal from one of the swimmer's purses. She sticks around after hours and discovers Bree and Jonna trapped under the pool's cover. Instead of immediately freeing them, she decides to mess with them. She turns the sisters against each other, then steals money and Bree's engagement ring from Bree. When Clara and Jonna face off after the girls are free, Jonna gets everything back and lets Clara go, finally able to turn the other cheek.
12 Feet Deep is an unorthodox take on the monster movie, as it is all about overcoming personal demons. The girls had an abusive father, which deeply affected their lives and relationships moving forward. Their conversations while trapped help them understand how much that truly impacted them. One revelation from the sisters' heart-to-heart is that Bree indirectly caused their father's death by saying she, "killed the monster."
In the film's final minutes, a shocked Bree asks Jonna how she got her engagement ring back, and Jonna echoes Bree's words, saying, "I killed the monster." This comment turns the statement on its head as she frees Clara from the guilt of what she did, setting her free. The sisters can begin healing now that they have killed the metaphorical monsters in their lives. It's a definitive ending, so audiences likely won't expect a sequel from 12 Feet Deep anytime soon.
While the movie is hugely different in scope, 12 Feet Deep presents a similar story to a pair of other Survival Movies in Fall and 47 Meters Down. In Fall, the big difference is that the story isn't about being trapped underwater, where someone could die due to diabetes. Instead, the protagonists are two daredevils who climb a high tower and get trapped, where one wrong move will send them to their death. But both Fall and 12 Feet Deep are about two close-knit young women who are trapped and have to rely on each other for survival.
Both movies also have bad-acting characters who discover the trapped girls, and instead of helping, rob them and leave them to die. Finally, the films' entire core relationships are nearly ruined when the two trapped women learn that one of them was cheating with the other's partner. However, the endings differ greatly, as the girls in 12 Feet Deep fight to save each other and even forgive their tormentor, whereas the protagonist in Fall is hurt and her friend sacrifices her own life to save her.
47 Meters Down is a little more similar, as it takes place underwater and is about two sisters who have a rough relationship. The biggest difference is the scope of the danger here, as in 12 Feet Deep, the girls are in a pool and one needs an insulin shot. In 47 Meters Down, they are in the ocean and are hunted by giant sharks. The 47 Meters Down ending is also drastically different as Lisa hallucinates saving her and her sister, and Kate has been dead most of the movie, a tragic end compared to 12 Feet Deep.