Adrenaline junkies and YouTube influencers find themselves in over their heads when a seemingly casual adventure goes terribly wrong, in Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillotake’s aspirational horror film, The Deep House.

I say “aspirational” because while the bones of a chilling story are there–foreigners in a foreign land, the flurry of paranormal activity, a dire race against the clock–the end product is a lackluster turn of events that sinks without so much as a splash.

The couple at the center of the film are social media influencers, Tina (Camille Rowe) and Ben (James Jagger). Both are extremely beautiful, fit, and with the most envious of distinctive jawlines. After hearing local lore that a perfectly preserved mansion is settled at the bottom of a nearby lake, the duo set off to explore it for #content for their online #followers.

Ben seems to be more of the instigator, badgering Tina to follow his lead as they gear up and prepare to scuba dive to the house’s location hundreds of feet underwater. What starts out as a peaceful excursion turns sinister when the duo gets trapped in the aquatic haunted house and panicked screaming and hyperventilation ensue for the remainder of the film.

My biggest hang-up with The Deep House is how it feels more focused on scaring its protagonists rather than its audience. We see that Tina and Ben are terrified as their circumstance continues to spiral downward but their anxiety doesn’t fully translate to audience sympathy. Perhaps some of the blame is that most of the film is dependent on voiceovers. Model turned actor Camille Rowe–whose credits still list her as the ex-girlfriend of Harry Styles (like that should carry any weight toward her own accomplishments, but I digress)–and James Jagger–son of Mick Jagger–do a fine job when on land (when we can see their facial expressions and body language). But placed behind a thick scuba diving mask for a majority of the film, we lose that connection and ultimately, lose our care.

Most impressive is the practical nature in which the co-directors approached this project. There is no reliance on CGI, rather, a full-scale haunted house set was constructed in a water tank in Belgium. Capturing this choreographed chaos is cinematographer and skilled diver, Jacques Ballard. Ballard, who is also credited as DP for Naughty Boy ft. Beyoncé, Arrow Benjamin’s aquatic music video “Runnin’ (Lose It All)” is the real MVP here, contributing adequate tension and suspense to all of the maze-like twists and turns.

I was initially drawn to The Deep House because of its potential. An underwater haunted house sounded SCARY. However, 85 minutes later, I admit that I would have rather watched actual YouTubers doing actual YouTube shenanigans, which I do not say lightly. If you’re looking for a satisfactory B-movie horror night, The Deep House could be an option. Or you could just be better off clicking on a random video on the YouTube homepage.

Distributed by Paramount and EPIX. ‘The Deep House’ is now streaming on EPIX & for digital purchase via Paramount Home Entertainment.