The bluntly titled “Something in the Water” hearkens back to those good old days of perusing the horror section of my local mom-and-pop video store, carefully examining the VHS boxes of movies I’d never heard of, in search of some fun late-night entertainment. For better or worse, “Something in the Water” plays a lot like some of those weekend rentals that teenage me would pick out and watch.

First-time feature film director Hayley Easton Street takes the reins for what is essentially another shark thriller. Most of these movies follow a similar path – something goes wrong while out at sea and our unfortunate protagonists find themselves fighting for their lives against man-eating sharks. “Something in the Water” is no different. To her credit, Street does try to cook up some side drama. But the one-dimensional characters and their lightweight relationships don’t give us much to cling to.

It all takes place in the Caribbean where five friends gather at a swanky beachside resort for a weekend wedding. Meg (Hiftu Quasem) arrives and joins the hyperactive Cam (Nicole Rieko Setsuko), the thoughtful Ruth (Ellouise Shakespeare-Hart), and her former partner Kayla (Natalie Mitson) to party with their buddy and bride Lizzie (Lauren Lyle). The movie tries to give them each their own personality but there’s nothing that makes them stand out. The only real sense of drama involves Meg and Kayla who haven’t spoken since a traumatizing event split them apart one year earlier.

One afternoon Cam rents a rust-bucket boat and whisks the ladies away to a remote island well off the mainland. But what’s meant to be a fun and leisurely day on the beach quickly goes south after a shark bites a chunk out of Ruth’s leg while she’s playing in the water. Unable to stop the bleeding, the girls load their friend into the boat. But in their panicked rush back to the mainland, their boat strikes a reef gashing a hole in the bottom. And just like that the five friends are stranded in the middle of the ocean. And as you can probably guess, it doesn’t take long for that pesky shark to reappear.

It all makes for a harrowing scenario and Street squeezes out some pretty good tension, at least early on. But as it moves forward the film has trouble sustaining any real sense of terror or suspense. And it quickly begins to run out of gas despite clocking in at under 90 minutes. There are a couple of good character moments that earn the emotions they’re going for. But outside of that the movie sputters on its way to a silly ending that it could have done without.

“Something in the Water” is a competently directed first feature for Street who does her best with a thin story and fairly modest budget. The setting is beautifully shot and the performances are solid enough. But the story (written by Cat Clarke) doesn’t have the dramatic heft, suspense, or self-awareness to make it into any of the several movies it could have been. It’s moderately entertaining but falls victim to its generic characters, rather routine storyline, and a lack of energy to push it across the finish line.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

Dave Filoni wears many hats within the wonderful world of Star Wars. He’s a director, screenwriter, producer, and showrunner. He’s also an Executive Vice President at Lucasfilm and just last year was promoted to Chief Creative Officer. A former understudy of sorts of the legendary George Lucas, Filoni has his hand in nearly every Star Wars project from the many television series to his own upcoming feature film.

Filoni made a name for himself at LucasFilm in animation, overseeing the terrific shows “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars: Rebels”. Even with his promotions, Filoni hasn’t left that first-love as evident by “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” which is currently wrapping up its final season. But there’s also his “Star Wars: Tales” – an anthology series consisting of six animated short films focused on different characters in the Star Wars universe. The terrific “Tales of the Jedi” released in 2022. Now we get “Tales of the Empire”, an equally satisfying experience custom-made for the Star Wars faithful.

“Tales of the Empire” hones in on two specific characters, Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee. As we’ve come to expect from Filoni and LucasFilm, the animation is outstanding and the voice work is impeccable. Fans will recognize countless connections to various people, places, and events across the Star Wars timeline yet the shorts are more than simple fan service. Filoni always looks for the humanity in his characters and it’s no different here.

The first three shorts focus on Morgan Elsbeth who first appeared in the second season of “The Mandalorian” and had a significant role the Ahsoka series. Morgan was a Force-sensitive Nightsister from the planet Dathomir. She become a devoted follower of Grand Admiral Thrawn and would serve as an oppressive Imperial Magistrate on the planet Corvus. “Tales” makes three life-altering early stops on her timeline, adding some captivating depth to this fascinating character. The great Diana Lee Inosanto is back to voice Elsbeth.

The final three shorts do the same with Barriss Offee who is voiced by the returning Meredith Salenger. Barriss was a Jedi Knight during the Clone Wars and developed a close friendship with Ahsoka Tano. But Barriss grew disillusioned with the Jedi and turned to the dark side of the Force, going as far as bombing the Jedi Temple and letting Ahsoka take the fall. “Tales” adds some interesting complexity to her story, tapping into some of the conflict that drove her to follow the various paths she did.

Unlike the other Star Wars animated projects, the “Tales of the Empire” seasons are very much anthologies. The shorts may be connected by their focus on certain characters, but there’s nothing resembling a flowing episodic narrative. That may sound obvious since it’s baked into the very definition of an anthology. But I remember reading those very criticisms about its predecessor. So knowing what the show is obviously helps.

Also, it’s worth stressing again that “Tales of the Empire” is for fans first and foremost. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But newcomers should know that this isn’t where you want to begin your Star Wars journey. All six shorts demand some knowledge about the characters and their story arcs. Without it you can still admire the exquisite animation which employs the same art style as “The Clone Wars” and “The Bad Batch”. But the series is made with the intent of adding to what we already know about these characters, filling in and expanding upon what we’ve already seen. As a Star Wars diehard, I loved it. Those not well versed may struggle.

Each short runs approximately 15 minutes long and are written exceptionally well. The lone exception is the final episode which doesn’t wrap things up as strongly as possible. Still, for Star Wars fans there are so many nuggets to chew on and savor. Filoni knows how to handle his characters and his team of directors and animators vividly bring these short stories to the screen. I’m not sure where the “Tales” series goes next, but the quality of what we’ve been given so far makes me hungry for more. “Star Wars: Tales of the Empire” premieres May 4th exclusively on Disney+.

VERDICT – 4 STARS