DEEP RISING

Submarine creature feature

DEEP RISING was released on DVD and copies can sometimes be found on reseller and auction sites

Review

Finnegan and his two man crew run a seaborne, no questions asked delivery service. Their motto is "If the cash is there, we don't care". Thier current task is to deliver a group of very unsavoury mercenaries to a spot in the middle of the ocean. Upon arriving, that spot is occupied by the most luxurious cruise ship ever built, except it is a completely empty cruise ship. By the time they realise they are not alone aboard, it is too late.

DEEP RISING is your basic ALIENS rip-off. A bunch of gung-ho mercenaries go to a place with lots of guns and find monsters that are more than a match for their firepower. The civilians amongst them are the only ones who show initiative enough to have any chance of survival. There are no surprises, right down to the dialogue, which can often be guessed word for word before it is uttered.

However, it is a competent rip-off and proves to be entertaining throughout its running time, though it will barely last in the memory beyond the end of the credits. The script has some amusing moments, mostly as a result of Kevin J O'Connor's comic relief character Joey, but the rest of the cast play it completely straight, preventing the comedic moments from undermining the action.

And this is an sci-fi action film rather than a horror. There are a lot of gloopy, post-death effects that show the digested (and in some cases, half-digested) remains of the victims, but the character deaths are mainly bloodless or just off-screen, with a spray of blood through the water where the character previously was. There are no graphic chestburster scenes here.

There are no explanations given as to why the monsters have risen up from the depths to attack the ship just at the same moment the mercenaries were trying to rob it, and the reasoning behind the heist is the first place is a bit suspect, but it's not that kind of film. Never mind the justification, see the monsters devour the bad guys. The creature effects are pretty good and usually moving so quickly they don't have a chance to break the suspension of disbelief, although that does happen when the big momma monster appears to confuse as to whether the other creatures are, in fact, other creatures or just extensions tentacles of the main beastie.

Treat Williams makes for an acceptable enough hero, whilst Wes Studi is a nasty mercenary leader with a squad of equally nasty monster bait mercenaries. Famke Janssen provides the female glamour, but is a bit more than just eye candy. Anthony Heald is the hissable slimy corporate man with no morals.

DEEP RISING has no pretensions to be more than just a fun popcorn movie ride and is all the better for that. Entertaining whilst it plays, it won't linger in the memory, but also won't leave you feeling short-changed.