Ed Westwick and Madalina Ghenea are to star in the shark survival thriller 'Deep Fear'.

The pair have signed up for the film that is set in the Caribbean and directed by Marcus Adams from a screenplay he penned alongside Robert Capelli Jr. and Sophia Eptamentis.

Madalina will play Naomi, an accomplished yachtswoman who sets out on a solo trip to meet her boyfriend Jackson (Westwick) in Grenada. But her tranquil sail takes an unexpectedly dark turn when a storm forces her off the plotted course.

Circumnavigating an uninhabited island, she responds to a distress signal to aid a sinking vessel and finds three survivors clinging to shattered remains of a boat. It transpires that they are actually drug traffickers who force Naomi to dive into the sunken wreck to retrieve 850 kilos of cocaine.

The plan is thwarted when Naomi finds herself surrounded by a frenzy of man-eating tiger sharks – lured by the dead bodies in the wreck.

'Deep Fear' is described as an "intense and visceral survival thriller with furious action throughout".

Adams said: "This script presents the opportunity to create a truly original context for the genre.

"The malevolent narcos characters juxtapose acutely with Naomi and Jackson, an earnest and honourable couple who are daring to live their dream of running a yacht chartering business in the West Indies.

"Essentially ordinary folk thrust into an extraordinary situation, Naomi and Jackson are forced to do combat with both the narcos and one of nature's most awesome apex predators, creating a three-way battle that elicits tension and fear at every turn."

Madalina added: "I loved this character from the moment I read the script. Naomi is a fiercely confident, vibrant and highly accomplished young woman – it's an honour to be playing such an empowering female lead role.

"I've had lots of fun completing a month of intensive diving training in preparation for the role and am super excited to start shooting alongside such a talented team."