If you’re in the mood for a silly shark movie, then check out The Devil’s Mouth on Amazon Prime Video, a new original Amazon movie that began streaming today.
Directed by Jeff Wadlow, with a screenplay written by Aja Gabel and Myung Joh Wesner, The Devil’s Mouth stars Kathryn Newton, who has become something a scream queen over the last decade thanks to her roles in horror movies like Freaky, Lisa Frankenstein, Abigail, and Ready or Not 2. While The Devil’s Mouth is more survival thriller than it is horror, it certainly indulges in some monster movie tropes and horror elements, as Newton’s character fights for her life against a terrifying shark that is hungry for human flesh.
Most of The Devil’s Mouth movie takes place in the water in a dark cave, which means it’s not always easy to tell what, exactly, is going on. If you watch this movie while scrolling on your phone—and we can’t blame you for that—you might miss some key details, and find yourself confused. Don’t worry, because Decider is here to help. Read on for a breakdown of The Devil’s Mouth plot summary and The Devil’s Mouth ending explained.
The Devil’s Mouth movie plot summary:
Five friends from college—Sara (Kathryn Newton), Max (Lana Condor), James (Nico Hiraga), Greg (Gavin Casalegno), and Adrienne (Tommi Rose)—take a trip to Thailand together after graduation, to enjoy their youth one last time before entering adulthood.
Right away, we see there is tension between Max, the self-proclaimed leader of the group, and her BFF Sara. Max is adventurous and insists on having as much fun as possible, but often fails to think things through. Sara is much more cautious and often doubts Max’s ideas, but tends to go along with them, anyhow. Max’s carelessness leads to Sara being left behind alone in the ocean, where she is stung by jellyfish. But Sara forgives Max, because Max was there for her when her father died. Oh, by the way, Sara’s dad died exploring a cave in Thailand! The same cave that Sara and co. plan to explore tomorrow. Sure, sounds like a great idea.
So, Sara and her friends meet up with a tour guide, Wat (Tayme Thapthimthong), who will lead them on a snorkeling tour of “The Devil’s Mouth” cave. There’s been a recent “storm surge” that means the cave has been closed, and one of the more difficult routes, the “red path” is off limits because of that. But Max insists that she wants to explore the red path, and the tour guide relents. Sara goes along with it, even though she clearly thinks this is a bad idea.
Before they embark on the tour, a handsome scuba diver who is exploring the caves on his own tells Sara there is nothing to worry about. He tells her if she gets scared, to look down, and he will “wink” at her with his flashlight.
While snorkling, Sara believes she sees something eel-like in the water, but Wat dismisses it and insists only small fish live in these fresh-water caves. That said, as they continue down the red path, Wat gets increasingly anxious to get the group moving. He scolds Greg for slamming into a rock, and informs him the cave is unstable and could collapse on all of them. Wat tells them they must respect the cave.
One of the friends, Adrienne, cuts her leg on a rock and is bleeding. Wat insists they go back right away, but once again Max intervenes and insists they continue with the tour. At first, this seems worth it when the group gets a chance to witness a gorgeous bioluminescent phenomenon. But then Sara looks for her hot diver, and sees that he is hurt and bleeding. When the diver’s mask rises to surface with a bite out of it, Wat concludes there is a shark in the water that somehow got trapped in the cave, thanks to that recent storm surge.
Wat tells the group they need to leave right away. But once again, Max tries to take control of the situation, arguing that it is safer for them to stay out of the water and wait. While the friends argue, Wat leaves without them. Now they are alone in the caves.
One by one, the shark attacks and kills off the friends. While they are trying to escape, Sara notices the shark leaping out of the water and eating the bats in the cave. Apparently, this shark can jump pretty high. Hmm. All the while, Max and Sara argue about the best way to escape the cave alive, and every time, Sara gives in to what Max wants.
Eventually, it is just Max and Sara left alive.
The Devil’s Mouth movie ending explained:
After following Max’s failed plan to escape the cave, Sara decides she is done listening to her friend and her poor judgement. She decides they are going to escape via Sara’s original plan, through a “hatch” exit at the top of the cave. Unfortunately, Max has injured her hand and can’t climb. Sara believes the best plan of action is for her to climb out of the cave, and then she will come back for Max with help.
So, Max needs to trust Sara, and Sara needs to trust herself, something neither of them have done before. Max agrees, but at the last minute she breaks her promise. Unable to trust Sara, Max insists on trying to climb and escape with Sara. Sara, as always, gives in. She agrees to help Max climb by tying a rope around her, and pulling her up.
For a moment, it seems like this is working. But then the shark leaps out of the water, and grabs onto Max. Sara, who is tied to Max, is dragged down too. Get it? Sara is literally being dragged down by Max’s bad decisions.
At first, Sara lets this happen, still trying to save Max. But she realizes she needs to let Max go in order to save herself, so she does. The shark eats Max. Even though it seems like Sara could just climb to freedom on her own now, she decides to kill the shark first. Maybe she’s worried it will jump out of the water and get her, too.
Remembering what Wat said about the cave being unstable and on the verge of collapse, Sara hatches a plan. She positions herself in front of the unstable rock, and lures the shark to her with her blood. When the shark leaps out of the water to eat her, Sara jumps into the water. The cave collapses on the shark, crushing it, killing it. Conveniently, the cave does not collapse onto Sara, and she is able to climb out to freedom. She makes it outside. With that, the movie ends.
Even though The Devil’s Mouth movie is not that deep, it still comes with a lesson: Sara had to learn to trust herself and stop letting herself be talked into bad ideas by her friends. Otherwise, she was going to eaten by a shark, just like them. Don’t jump off a cliff with your friends—or into the mouths of sharks.