Deep Rising (1998) Hollywood/Action-Horror RT: 106 minutes Rated R (sci-fi violence and gore, language) Director: Stephen Sommers Screenplay: Stephen Sommers Music: Jerry Goldsmith Cinematography: Howard Atherton Release date: January 30, 1998 (US) Cast: Treat Williams, Famke Janssen, Anthony Heald, Kevin J. O’Connor, Wes Studi, Derrick O’Connor, Jason Flemyng, Djimon Hounsou, Cliff Curtis, Clifton Powell, Trevor Goddard, Clint Curtis, Una Damon. Box Office: $11.2M (US)
Rating: ***
As all movie geeks know, 1989 was the year of “They Came from Beneath the Sea” with three underwater terror flicks- DeepStar Six, Leviathan and The Abyss- splashing down in theaters within a twelve-month period. They were fine, but if you ask me, the coolest such flick is 1998’s Deep Rising, a slick, well-oiled, action-horror machine that follows the grand tradition of silly Saturday afternoon B-movies.
Written and directed by Stephen Sommers (1999’s The Mummy), Deep Rising is a fun hybrid of action and horror. It stars Treat Williams (Prince of the City) as Finnegan, the captain of a small vessel hired to take a group to an undisclosed location in the middle of the South China Sea for unknown reasons. It soon becomes clear the men are mercenaries. It must be the torpedoes found by crew member Tooch (O’Connor, Lord of Illusions) below deck. It turns out that Hanover (Studi, Dances with Wolves) and his guys intend to rob the passengers of a new luxury cruise ship, the Argonautica. When they reach the ship, it’s been abandoned. Shortly after a saboteur disables the navigation and communication systems, it’s attacked by unseen creatures that leave behind a bloody mess. Only a few people remain on board including the ship’s owner (Heald, The Silence of the Lambs) and international jewel thief Trillian (Janssen, GoldenEye). Once everybody realizes the situation they’re in, they must work together to survive in order to get off the sinking ship. That is, if the monsters don’t get them first.
I forgot how much I enjoyed Deep Rising until I popped in my DVD copy this past week. Now this is what a movie should be. Note that I said movie and not film. In my mind, a film is something like Citizen Kane, The Godfather or Cries and Whispers while a movie is pure entertainment like Aliens, Predator and Die Hard. Deep Rising gives you a lot of bang for your buck. It has mercenaries, big guns, a wise-cracking hero, a babe as tough as she is hot, a sleazy rich a-hole, expendable supporting characters, narrow escapes, an indoor jet-ski chase, sudden kills, gore, “BOO!” scenes and a huge scary monster. It’s the kind of movie that brings out Movie Teen 24/7.
Williams does his best Kurt Russell imitation as the hero of Deep Rising whose motto is “If the cash is there, we do not care.” He’s an opportunist forced by circumstances to assume the role of hero. It’s a character we’re all familiar with yet it’s still cool. O’Connor provides nice comic relief as Finnegan’s sidekick, a goofball with mad engine skills. Janssen is seriously HOT as the character who adds a cool shot of estrogen to the testosterone cocktail. The supporting cast includes Derrick O’Connor (Lethal Weapon 2), Jason Flemyng (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), Cliff Curtis (Once Were Warriors) and Djimon Hounsou (Amistad). They all do solid work.
My only real complaint about Deep Rising has to do with the monster. It may look ugly and fierce, but it’s also obviously CGI. As you all know, I’m not a big fan. It takes away from the overall effect. HOWEVER, that it’s designed by Rob Bottin (The Thing) makes a big difference. This guy has skills in that department. In general, the effects in Deep Rising are pretty good. It also has plenty of the red sticky stuff for all you gorehounds. Two of the best kills are the woman that gets pulled down a toilet by one of the tentacled beasts and the man who gets an axe buried in his skull. All I can say is “Sweet!”
The most important thing about Deep Rising is that it totally ROCKS! It’s not perfect, but it’s not a half-assed effort either. Everybody from the director to the cast give it their all. This is a no holds barred, full tilt boogie, balls to the wall action-horror flick. It’s one of those “what you see is what you get” movies. It doesn’t try to be anything more. It is what it is and it does it well. Strap in and enjoy the ride.
