Monday, July 7, 2008 - Review of Deep Rising (1998)
During the mid to late 90’s horror made a substantial comeback after the success of Scream in 1996. Directors and studios were keen to cash in on the genre as it had become quite popular with teenage audiences, leading to an influx of (M) and (MA) rated horror marketed at the same audience who loved Scream. Stuff like I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Urban Legend (1998) were hitting cinemas, but there were a few studios who went a different route and started to put out creature features. We were now seeing a return of big budget 50’s style monster flicks including The Relic (1997), Anaconda (1997), Starship Troopers (1997), Mimic (1997), Phantoms (1998), Lake Placid (1999), Deep Blue Sea (1999), and The Faculty (1998). But one of the better ones to come along was Stephen Sommer’s CGI showcase, 1998’s big ass monster from the depth of the sea attacks unsuspecting people film Deep Rising. Sommer’s later went on to direct one of the era’s most notable CG efforts; the remake of the classic Universal film The Mummy in 1999 and also directed a sequel, The Mummy Returns in 2001.
The film opens with Treat Williams as Finnegan - (in a role in which Harrison Ford was originally asked to play but turned down.) - a captain for hire navigating a course through the sea with his crew – Joey and Leila. They have been payed by a group of men on board to transport some suspicious cargo to the “middle of nowhere”. Cut to the Argonautica – a huge cruise liner on its maiden voyage, its night time and there is a huge party happening on board. The owner Simon Canton gives a speech about the vessel while Captain Atherton watches on. Famkee Jensen (the absolutely sexy bird from The Faculty) stars as Trillian, a thief who is put into the brigg after she is caught stealing jewellery from the vault on boad. The crew notify the captain that all communication and navigational systems have been shut down by an unknown cause. Next we see a large object coming up beneath the Arogonautica and hear strange eerie noises. Cut back to Finnegan’s boat and we learn that the group of men who hired him are mercenaries and they are out to do over the Argonatuica, but want to set the passengers free first. When they reach the Argonautica, there job has already been done for them. There is no one on board. Finnegan and Joey board the ship with the mercanaries. After seeing puddles of blood they realize all is not right. They run into a couple of survivors including Captain Atherton, Simon Canton and the escaped Trillian, who tell them they have to get off the ship because it has been overrun by bloodthirsty creatures! From there on its your typical creature feature plot; the usual idiots get killed off and the hero and the girl save the day! The ending plays out like they were thinking about making a sequel, but to this day there has been not much talk of a sequel. I know I’d be seeing it if it were ever made.
The acting is fine and I had no problems with the character development. I don’t really watch these kind of films for the characters anyway! The film is chock a block full of all the monster movies cliches and plays on them to full extent making the film a brilliant homage to classics 50’s style creature features while still remaining suspensful. The set pieces look amazing and look like the 45 million it made to make. The lighting adds to the eerie mood and atmosphere of being in the middle of the ocean. The whole movie plays at night and on the Argonautica it is mainly filmed in the dark, but you can see everything quite clearly. It reminds me of Aliens in a way. The deaths are all great, gory and creative – exactly what I like to see. There is one great scene that was one of the most expensive CG scenes filmed during the late 90’s. And another scene that all gorehounds will appreciate. The creature is a great little beast, actually, are great big beasts! They are described as being a mutated breed of Archea Otoia, that live between 5000 - 40,000 feet beneath sea level. They are giant, worm like creatures that look like living spikey tentacles, with mouths full of razor sharp teeth, which swallow you whole and drink you alive before regurgitating you back up! There is also the ‘mother’ monster. And boy is she a beauty! Its one of the best creature designs ever put on film I think. The overall outcome of the film is a great mix of Horror, Science Fiction, Action, and Comedy.
Deep Rising is essentially Tremors at sea. And that is probably why I love it so much! Leave your brain at the door, get the popcorn ready, and just sit back and enjoy the ride. An amazing film and one I own and cherish.
