Movie enthusiasts are eager to know if the pulse-pounding upcoming thriller Whalefall is based on a real-life whale encounter. The gripping trailer has amassed millions of views in under 24 hours, leaving viewers terrified by its claustrophobic concept.
What Is Whalefall About?
Whalefall is a survival horror film set to hit cinemas this October. It centers on young man Jay Gardiner, played by Austin Abrams, who, after the death of his father (Josh Brolin), decides to dive off the coast of California to search the ocean floor for his remains. However, he ends up swallowed whole by an enormous sperm whale with time rapidly running out. A synopsis teases: 'While trapped inside its belly with only one hour of oxygen left, Jay comes to realize that the hard-earned lessons his father imparted may be the key to his escape.'
Is Whalefall Based on a True Story?
The film is not directly inspired by a factual account but is adapted from the novel of the same name by author Daniel Kraus, published in 2023. In both the book and the film, Jay is a young diver hunting for his father's remains who comes face to face with a giant squid being pursued by a colossal sperm whale. When Jay becomes entangled with the squid, he is dragged deeper into the whale's throat until he is swallowed whole and must rely on his ingenuity to break free in less than an hour. While this precise scenario is fictional, Kraus drew inspiration from numerous real-life accounts of divers encountering whales and narrowly avoiding being swallowed.
Real-Life Inspirations
The initial spark came from a viral video in 2020, which captured a group of kayakers in California being scooped up in the mouth of a humpback whale. Kraus subsequently consulted scientists to establish whether it was physically possible for a whale to swallow a human whole. He later shared his discoveries in a YouTube video uploaded to publisher Simon and Schuster's channel. 'When you read about someone being swallowed, generally they're just being mouthed,' he said. 'But, they did say that if it was the right kind of sperm whale in a certain set of circumstances, it was theoretically possible.'
Further inspiration may have come from the remarkable ordeal of Michael Packard, a lobster diver from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. While underwater, his surroundings suddenly turned pitch black, and he quickly realized he was entirely engulfed inside the mouth of a humpback whale. He remained trapped for 30-40 seconds before the creature resurfaced and expelled him. He fortunately lived to tell the tale, suffering severe bruising but escaping without any broken bones.
Another instance involves South African conservationist and photographer Rainer Schimpf, who was engulfed by a Bryde's whale. Despite understanding the whale's throat was too narrow to genuinely swallow a human, Schimpf remained consumed with terror that the creature might pull him to the ocean floor where he would drown. Fortunately, the ordeal lasted merely a few seconds as the whale soon recognized Schimpf was too large to consume and expelled him.
Whalefall releases in UK cinemas on October 16.
