by John Harvey

Jan 25, 2000

I thought that this movie was one of the two scariest that I'd ever seen. If you are looking for a great horror/sci-fi movie, you'll like Deep Rising. If you were a fan of Event Horizon, you'll like Deep Rising. A note of warning, though. This movie has some effects which would make anyone who is remotely squeamish feel sick. I squirmed on my seat throughout the whole movie because of the suspense. Just remember that it has some gorey scenes, but if you like scary movies like Event Horizon, this movie is definitely for you. If you're not into that sort of thing, by all means, DON'T SEE IT. You may throw up.

 

by Jason Whyte

Jan 25, 2000

Why is it that these creature features seem to be found enjoyable by yours truly? I saw "Alien 4" back in March, and even though I haven't seen any others in the series, I had a blast watching it nonetheless, for example. The new film "Deep Rising" is yet another addition into the fun category, that is, creature feature.

While immense in stupidness (so was "Alien 4"), "Deep Rising" at least takes the monster scenes with a good sense of humour. The plot takes a little while to gear up, but at least it makes sense; a terrorist group is hired to overtake a luxury ship and sink it so the captain can reap the insurance. What neither party knows is that there is a killer octopus-like creature lurking into the ship.

The captain of the terrorist boat (the reliable Treat Williams), doesn't know it is a terrorist takeover, neither does his trusty engineer. When the terrorists take over the boat and force the captain and engineer along with them, they get onto the ship, when they notice, hey, there is no one on the ship! Then the creature starts to threaten the group, as well as a female thief (played by Famke Janssen, who has never looked better) found on board. The bulk of the movie is the war between the group and the lizard.

It's stupid yet fun. And at least it is made that way, which is the best way to go, not to make it all serious and deep-layered. So I enjoyed myself. There are many plot holes, and the massive gore gets a little too harsh (just watch one of the terrorists meet his fate with an axe. I won't tell you where), Although there was a great shot halfway through that showed the entire creature, complete with the carcasses of all the people lying on the floor. It's a "Gone With The Wind" kind of shot, only with the people inside out.

Grade: B

Tech Review:

Picture: 5 A glowing picture with fine blacks and glowing colors. A truly beautiful image; Hollywood pictures is good at this.

Sound: 4 Mixed in all three sound formats, try to find a SDDS print if you can. The mix itself is rather thin, with the music score sort of in mono, while the action scenes have great split surrounds. There is not a lot of bass, surprisingly.

Photography: 4 The film is shot in Panavision, and well framed, although in some scenes it pulls a Robert Zemeckis and makes very narrow shots. Oh well. Good framing in the other parts.

106 minutes. pamgrier@hotmail.com

 

by Richard LaFreniere

Jan 25, 2000

A definate scream thriller for all ages. Hopefully, if you are over 18 due to the graphical gore and overall rating of the film. The story line is basically this: A group of villians on route to Japan or Hong Kong spot a cruise ship and decide to loot its vault. Upon arrival on the Curise Ship, the villians find it deserted, however, all life boats are still on board. The gang find all the ships systems have been taken off-line, so they are unable to send for help. The villians find a few left over crew members onthe ship, and gradually find out that the ship has been taken over by a monsterous force from under the sea. A Few of the original cast survive, however, the ending provides a hint of a possible sequal. This film provides excellent sound as well as special effects beyond belief. Go see this film now and prepare for a full scream ahead!

 

by Brian Jacks

Jan 25, 2000

I say wait for rental in the most loosest sense of the word. This movie had me shaking my head the entire way through due to the utter stupidity of the plot. As for scary, I was more afraid watching a Wal-Mart commercial than this pathetic excuse for a monster movie. Half the time they spend trying to find a way off the ship. Do they not remember that they have dozens of life-boats all around them? Are they that oblivious to that fact. The script writers must have been more worried about finishing before WWC Wrestling started than actually writing a decent script. Only watch this for it's special effects, although compared to Event Horizon, which also suffered in plot, it's nothing special.

 

by George Jobson

Jun 8, 2003

About a month after "Titanic," there is "Deep Rising" where it more of "Titanic," where scary monsters are thrown in. the film has a weak cast as they trioed to get off the ship without running into the monsters. I like the monsters, but this film needs more character study.