Under Paris—the English title of the French film Sous la Seine—is a 2024 environmental horror thriller about a giant shark discovered in the Seine just as Paris prepares to host a major triathlon. Directed by Xavier Gens, the 1-hour-44-minute Netflix film combines marine science, conservation politics, river-police procedure, and deliberately excessive creature-feature spectacle.
It is not a realistic scientific thriller, and it is not a documentary. Its appeal comes from the collision between an instantly recognizable city and an outrageous premise: a dangerous shark has adapted to the waters running through the French capital.
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What is Under Paris about?
Marine biologist Sophia Assalas returns to the problem of a shark she thought she understood when environmental activist Mika finds evidence that the animal has reached the Seine. The shark, known as Lilith, was connected to a disastrous expedition in Sophia’s past. Five years later, Sophia must investigate what has happened to Lilith while Paris prepares for a high-profile World Triathlon event on the river.
That puts Sophia in an uneasy alliance with Mika and Adil, the commander of the Seine river police. Their problem is not simply proving that a shark is present. They must persuade authorities to take the threat seriously before swimmers, athletes, spectators, and emergency personnel are placed in danger.
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The setup gives the film two simultaneous conflicts. The first is the familiar creature-feature question: how can the characters stop a predator before it attacks again? The second is institutional and environmental: will public officials prioritize safety and ecological evidence, or will the city’s planned spectacle continue because canceling it is politically and commercially unacceptable?
Why the Seine setting matters
The Seine is more than a convenient location for a shark movie. Paris is normally presented through landmarks, bridges, tourism, public celebrations, and cultural history. Under Paris turns that civic landscape into a threat zone.
The river also creates a strong contrast between appearance and reality. Above the water, the city continues to function as a capital preparing for an international sporting event. Beneath the surface, the same river becomes an unfamiliar ecosystem in which visibility is poor, escape routes are limited, and a large predator can remain hidden.
That contrast lets the movie stage danger in places audiences recognize: not a remote ocean, an isolated beach, or an abandoned research station, but the waterway running through one of Europe’s most recognizable cities. The familiar setting makes the premise feel more immediate even when the biology becomes increasingly speculative.
The environmental horror angle
The film treats the shark’s unusual development as part of a larger ecological story. Human activity and environmental disruption have changed the conditions in which the animal lives, allowing the creature to become a threat in an environment where viewers would not expect to find it.
This theme is important, but Under Paris does not remain a sober ecological warning. It uses environmental anxiety as the foundation for a suspense film and then builds toward large-scale disaster-movie escalation. The result is best understood as environmental horror rather than a lecture about marine biology.
Sophia represents scientific expertise and the burden of past research. Mika represents a more activist, confrontational response to ecological danger. Their disagreement reflects a real tension in environmental stories: scientific evidence may require patience and qualification, while activists may feel that institutions move too slowly to prevent catastrophe. Adil, meanwhile, provides the practical perspective of public safety and emergency response.
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Is Under Paris like Jaws?
It is reasonable to describe Under Paris as “Jaws in the Seine,” but that comparison should be used as a starting point rather than a complete description.
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Both films organize suspense around a community confronting a dangerous shark while officials face pressure to keep public activity going. Both also understand that a shark becomes more frightening when the audience imagines it beneath apparently ordinary recreational water.
The difference is tone and scale. Under Paris adds an explicit conservation and ecological-disruption storyline, uses a contemporary European capital as its arena, and ultimately becomes much more exaggerated than a restrained man-versus-predator thriller. Its final-act approach is closer to maximalist shark spectacle than to strict realism.
Viewers expecting a scientifically rigorous account of freshwater shark behavior may find the premise difficult to accept. Viewers looking for a polished, knowingly outrageous creature movie may find that implausibility is part of the entertainment.
Cast and characters
- Bérénice Bejo as Sophia Assalas: A marine biologist drawn back into the investigation by the appearance of Lilith in the Seine. Sophia’s personal history with the shark gives the threat an emotional dimension beyond a routine animal attack.
- Léa Léviant as Mika: An environmental activist who discovers evidence that the shark has reached Paris. Mika’s urgency and willingness to confront authorities drive the film’s conservation-focused side.
- Nassim Lyes as Adil: The commander of the Seine river police. Adil represents the operational response to the crisis and becomes an important link between scientific warnings and public protection.
- Anne Marivin as the mayor of Paris: A representative of the political pressure surrounding the city’s event and public image.
- Marvin Dubart as Markus: A member of the film’s wider institutional and event-response structure.
- Nagisa Morimoto as Ben: Mika’s colleague at the conservation organization Save the Seas, also identified as SOS in the film’s material.
Xavier Gens directed the film. Public credit listings identify the screenplay as a collaboration involving Gens, Yannick Dahan, Maud Heywang, Yaël Langmann, and Olivier Torres; readers seeking a complete credit roll should verify those details against the finished on-screen credits.
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How realistic is the shark premise?
Under Paris should not be judged primarily as a realistic marine-science case study. Its central premise is a genre device: the film needs a large, dangerous shark to survive in and reach the Seine, and it uses ecological change to provide a contemporary explanation.
That does not mean the environmental ideas are irrelevant. The story asks how altered ecosystems can produce consequences that cities and institutions are not prepared for. But the movie eventually favors suspense, spectacle, and escalation over a carefully bounded account of what a real shark could do in the river.
Rank #3
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The most accurate description is therefore an ecological creature feature with a serious setup and an intentionally outrageous payoff. The film wants the audience to take the danger seriously enough to feel tension, while also accepting the increasingly extravagant logic of a modern shark-disaster movie.
Tone: serious thriller or campy shark movie?
Both descriptions apply, although they fit different portions of the film.
The opening establishes trauma, research, conservation, and institutional denial. That material gives the story the shape of a conventional ecological thriller. As the threat expands, however, the movie becomes more openly committed to spectacle. Parisian landmarks, public events, emergency operations, and crowded waterways provide opportunities for the kind of escalation associated with exaggerated shark cinema.
This tonal shift explains much of the film’s divided reception. Some viewers appreciate that it does not remain cautious and instead commits to an entertainingly ridiculous premise. Others find the movement from ecological seriousness to farcical destruction uneven, especially when character or plot decisions appear designed mainly to produce a larger set piece.
Reception and reviews
Reception was mixed, with a notable difference between critics and audiences in the Rotten Tomatoes figures available during the research period: 63% from critics and 30% from audiences. Those numbers can change, so they should be refreshed before publication if presented as a current score.
RogerEbert.com’s assessment highlighted the film’s competent suspense and polished presentation, while also noting its movement from echoes of Jaws toward much more extreme and deliberately goofy shark-movie territory. A Le Monde review similarly framed the movie as a disaster film that shifts from its initial shark-in-the-Seine idea toward destructive, farcical excess.
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Where can you watch Under Paris?
Under Paris was released on Netflix on June 5, 2024. Netflix lists it as a French horror/thriller film with an approximate runtime of 1 hour and 44 minutes. The U.S. listing carries a TV-MA rating.
Availability, rating displays, subtitles, dubbing, and classification can vary by country. Check the Netflix listing for your territory before watching. The research available for this article did not verify a current official U.S. DVD or Blu-ray release, so readers should not assume that a physical edition is available simply because the film is popular on streaming.
Does Under Paris have a sequel?
As of August 11, 2026, entertainment-industry reporting indicates that Netflix is proceeding with Under Paris 2. The reported sequel is in production in southern France, with Alexandre Aja directing instead of Xavier Gens. Gens is reported to remain involved as a co-writer and associate producer.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsReported story information says the sequel jumps forward three years and escalates the threat after mutated sharks have established themselves in the Seine and begun reproducing. Those details come from industry reporting rather than a complete official Netflix production page. The release date, final title styling, completed cast, runtime, and finalized plot should therefore be treated as unconfirmed unless Netflix or the production companies publish them directly.
The sequel news suggests that Netflix sees franchise potential in the first film’s central idea: an apparently contained animal threat can become a much larger ecological and urban crisis. It also indicates that the follow-up may expand the premise beyond one shark and one immediate event.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Should you watch it?
Watch Under Paris if you enjoy shark movies, environmental thrillers, urban-disaster stories, or films that begin with a serious premise and gradually become more outrageous. The Paris setting gives the movie a distinctive visual identity, and the ecological framing makes it more contemporary than a generic animal-attack plot.
Approach it cautiously if you need realistic marine biology, consistent tone, or tightly restrained character behavior. The film’s central question is not whether a shark could behave exactly this way in real life. It is whether the combination of a famous city, a public spectacle, environmental anxiety, and escalating shark-movie mechanics can produce entertaining genre chaos.
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For the right viewer, the answer is yes. Under Paris works best when treated as a polished Netflix creature feature that wants both the credibility of an ecological thriller and the fun of an unapologetically extravagant disaster movie.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Under Paris based on a true story?
No. Under Paris is a fictional French horror/thriller directed by Xavier Gens. Its environmental concerns draw on real-world ecological anxiety, but Sophia, Mika, Adil, and the shark Lilith are part of the film’s fictional story.
What is the French title of Under Paris?
The original French title is Sous la Seine, which translates roughly as “Under the Seine.” Netflix released it internationally under the English title Under Paris.
How long is Under Paris?
Netflix lists the film at approximately 1 hour and 44 minutes.
Is Under Paris a documentary?
No. It is a scripted 2024 French horror, thriller, and disaster film. Its marine-science and conservation themes are used within a fictional creature-feature story.
Is Under Paris suitable for children?
Netflix’s U.S. listing rates it TV-MA. The film contains horror, shark attacks, violence, and disaster imagery, so parents should check the rating and content for their own country before viewing.
Will there be an Under Paris 2?
As of August 11, 2026, industry reporting says Netflix is proceeding with a sequel, with Alexandre Aja directing and Xavier Gens reportedly involved as co-writer and associate producer. A final release date and all production details should be treated as unconfirmed until officially announced.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Under Paris is best viewed as an environmental shark spectacle, not a realistic science film. Its strongest idea is the transformation of the Seine—from a symbol of Parisian life and public celebration into an urban hunting ground. Its mixed reception reflects the film’s defining trade-off: a credible ecological setup gives way to deliberately excessive disaster-movie fun.
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