Tom's Guide is always checking Netflix for new arrivals However, there is one film that surged into the top 10 last week

"The Abyss" is a Swedish-language disaster movie based on the true story of a town sunk by a massive mine The film was released in Sweden in September 2023 (as "Avgrunden"), but is now available on Netflix, where apparently many people have hit the play button

So, should you join the fray and start streaming "The Abyss"? Or should you honestly skip this movie that you may not have even heard of until you read this? Let's take a look at what critics and audience reviews have to say about the film and whether you should stream or skip it

"The Abyss" takes place in the Swedish town of Kiruna, home of the Kirnavala mine The mine is the largest subway ore mine in the world and is so massive that it regularly experiences seismic activity

For Frigga (Tuva Nowotny), the head of security at Kirnavala, these constant tremors were not unusual One day, however, the shaking reaches another level and her son Simon (Edvin Riding) disappears into the mine after a cave-in accident Frigga must venture deep into the mine to find her son and to discover the true horror of the fate that awaits Kiruna

As mentioned before, this disaster film is based on a true story Kiruna is a real town, and the Kirnavala mine really exists And this mine is so huge that, in reality, part of the town collapsed into the mine, forcing the town to move two miles away But thankfully, in real life, people do not disappear into the mine

So, with a thrilling premise based on real events, "Abyss" seems intriguing Let's see what critics and audiences have to say about it

Unfortunately, the reviews for this disaster movie are Well, they are dismal

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes have only four reviews so far, but they are actually not terrible Two of them, John O'Brien of Inverse and John Sarver of Decider, seem to appreciate what the film is trying to do and recommend that fans of the disaster movie genre will enjoy giving "The Abyss" a try

Roger Moore of Movie Nation and Lori Meek of Ready Steady Cut, however, were less positive Moore said the film was simply too predictable, while Meek ultimately gave the film a "fresh rating," though they agreed that the film was very predictable Both reviews gave the film a 5 out of 10, with Meek even calling it a "snooze film"

Audiences rated the film even lower, with only 22% finding the film "fresh" Some of those who saw and reviewed the film were interested in the film's premise and beginning, but even they threw around words like "terrible," "the worst," and "WTF"

The only review that was full of praise was by Steve S, who wrote, "It has a good story, believable characters, and decent action The special effects make the whole plot plausible At times I was on the edge of my seat, and overall I was rooting for the main characters to overcome their disasters"

I am genuinely glad that Steve S enjoyed the film, but the consensus seems to be that "The Abyss" should be skipped, despite its surge in popularity Technically, it looks well done, but despite a really interesting premise, it comes across as a very predictable and typical disaster movie