Review of Deep Rising (1998) by Joe H — 12 Sep 2011

Saw this movie years ago on good ol' VHS, and I remember, the video was messed up and the sound quality was all muffled. Even so, I remembered liking it. Watching it at long last tonight on crisp DVD, I really liked it! If it isn't the BEST creature feature ever made it's certainly at the top of the list in my opinion. Like Stephen Sommer's following blockbuster hit "The Mummy", "Deep Rising" is the perfect mixture of horror, suspense, and comedy. And in my book, those are all qualities needed for a superb creature feature, or just a horror film in general. And I love that the movie barely ever lets you take a breather. Constant motion, and I love that.

Sure, some of the CGI is laughable, especially the cruise ship sailing across the raging seas in the stormy night. But the creature design itself is actually fairly well done. And I think most could agree that it's better to focus on the creature design than a dumb boat that you see for thirty seconds.

The cast is also brilliant. Normally I just think Treat Williams is a dork (though he can tend to be an entertaining dork, like in "The Phantom"), but this is one of the few (or only) movies where he is really likeable. As in "The Mummy", Kevin J. O'Connor is pretty hilarious and feels a lot like how the average real-life person would be in that situation. Famke Janssen is perfect as the carefree thief, and she really seems so realistic. She's not the over-the-top female warrior, but she's also not a helpless screamer. She, like O'Connor, also feels like how the average real-life person might be in that situation. And of course Anthony Heald does a great job of being a total annoying fathead.

And of course, how could I write this review without mentioning... Jerry Goldsmith's ridiculously awesome score :) Definitely among my top favorite Goldsmith scores as, once again, a tremendous utilization of traditional orchestra and a few sound effects/synth sounds. Every time the music starts it just perfectly captures the feel of what's happening on the screen. From quiet and eerie, to a clash and fast-paced "get the heck out of there" music. Pretty much a flawless soundtrack.

In closing, the movie is just plain awesome. A couple disturbing parts here and there that a newbie should be wary of (particularly a half-digested man who gets spit out of the creature and starts to stand up and scream). But overall just pure creature feature fun, suspense, and humor.

5 stars!