A group of college friends head up to the the lake for some R n R, but something lurks in the lake.

To paraphrase Sam Goldwyn, we need some new cliches. A reasonable premise is wrecked by overly familiar action, silliness, scares and characters. The 3-D shark effects are not much of an improvement over those in Jaws 3-D from 1983 which is odd considering the talent involved.

Having said all that what's not to love about a teens-in-peril-from-sharks movie?

Day by day, a virus spreads.

Technically excellent, emotionally aloof, this sort of thing has been done better elsewhere in more extreme variants such as Survivors, even The Stand and any number of zombie films. Points for the 'reality' of the thing but I'm neither extra alarmed nor comforted.

Jennifer Ehle shines among the amazing roster of acting talent.

Almost documentary like look at a collection of Southern lives peppered with flights of fancy from its youthful protagonist.

Probably not what you were expecting, but ends with a haunting emotional wallop the likes of which I've not felt since Cuckoo's Nest.

Aided and abetted by Gordon Willis gorgeous cinematography and strategic Gershwin on the soundtrack. Streep, Keaton and Mariel Hemingway add extra value. My heart still belongs to Annie Hall though.

Finally available on Blu-Ray in 2012.

A film where the real thrill is guessing the genre, but most of the surprises - aren't. Good performances and a couple of decent scares but needs a bit more voltage.