Up from the Depths (1979)

Director:

Charles B. Griffith

Writer:

Alfred M. Sweeney (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

June 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Your vacation is about to end!!!

Plot:

A giant shark-like creature preys on a Hawaiian tourist community.

Plot Keywords:

Tourist | Shark | Pump Action Shotgun | Female Nudity | Hawaii

Cast

Sam Bottoms	...	Greg Oliver
Susanne Reed	...	Rachel McNamara
Virgil Frye	...	Earl Sullivan
Kedric Wolfe	...	Oscar Forbes
Charles Howerton	...	Dr. David Whiting
Denise Hayes	...	Iris Lee
Chuck Doherty	...	Ed Bennett (as Charles Doherty)
Helen McNeely	...	Louellen Bennett
Ken Metcalfe	...	Mr. Holland
Randy Taylor	...	Jimmy
Dave D'Martyn	...	Tourist #1
Clem Persons	...	Maintenance Man (as Clem Parsons)
Peter Cooper	...	Nieberg (as Pete Cooper)
Katherine Scholy	...	Darleen
Ken Petruic	...	Harry
Bobby Greenwood	...	Tourist #2
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
R. Lee Ermey
Don Gordon Bell	...	Drunk Party guest (uncredited)
Dorothy Burham	...	Sandy Kane (uncredited)
Joe Crawford	...	Extra (uncredited)
Phyllis Crawford	...	Extra (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles B. Griffith

Writing credits
Alfred M. Sweeney		(screenplay)
Anne Dyer		uncredited

Produced by
Rolando S. Atienza	....	executive producer (as Jack Atienza)
Jill Griffith	....	associate producer
Manny Norman	....	associate producer
Cirio H. Santiago	....	producer
Roger Corman	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
James Horner		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Ricardo Remias		(as Rick Remington)

Film Editing by
Gervacio Santos		(as G.V. Bass)
R.J. Kizer		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Peque Gallaga		(as Maurice Gallagher)

Art Direction by
Ben Otico

Production Management
Marty David	....	production manager
Steven Kovacs	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Leo Martinez	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Willie Arce	....	sound (as Willie Archer)

Special Effects by
Santos Hilario	....	special effects (as Sandy Hill)
Robert Short	....	special effects
Chris Walas	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
James Arce	....	underwater camera operator
Proceso Lázaro	....	camera operator: second unit (as Ross Lazarus)
Patric J. Abaravich	....	electrician (uncredited)

Music Department
Restie Umali	....	composer: additional music (as Russell O'Malley)
Restie Umali	....	musical director (as Russell O'Malley)

Other crew
Bert Amazan Jr.	....	script supervisor (as Bert Mars Jr.)
Peque Gallaga	....	underwater director (as Pete Gallagher)
Sammy Umali	....	production coordinator (as Sam O'Malley)
Kent Adamson	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• New World Pictures

Distributors

• New World Pictures (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• Shout! Factory (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Jack Rabin & Associates  titles & opticals

Also Known As:

"Jurassic Jaws" - Japan (English title) (DVD title)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

Philippines | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Batangas City, Batangas, Luzon, Philippines

Company:

New World Pictures

Trivia:

New World Pictures double-billed this feature with the superior David Cronenberg film The Brood (1979).

Quotes:

Tourist:Oh my God, it's a monster fish!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010)

Great poster, terrible movie

After reading about this film for years in magazines and reference books, I finally managed to track down it down some time ago at a local Blockbusters. I honestly didn't expect it to be good, but I had no idea how truly terrible it would turn out to be. There are a whole bunch of Jaws inspired cash ins out there for your perusal, the original Pirahna being the best, Up From The Depths being the absolute worst. What really gives this film it's claim to infamy is the astonoshingly bad comedy relief that pops up in the last half as all the goofy tourists head out to catch the killer fish. It's so bad that it actualy makes the work of Jim Carey and Adam Sandler look inspired. No mean feat to be sure. The great poster for the film gives you the impression that the creature will be an aquatic dinosaur or sea serpent. No such luck as all it is, is some kind of rare, deep sea fish brought to the upper surface via seismic activity. It's also not very impressive looking and the FX artist who created it regreted (years later in an interview in Fangoria) not having a good enough budget to craft a decent looking creature. One funny thing about the monster fish is that it shares a power that many other type of similar B movie monsters have, namely the ability to sneak right up on people despite being about 20 to 30 feet long. How do they do that? A week before NBC unveiled their terrible adaptation of Peter Benchly's "Beast," a local channel had the bright idea to air Up From The Depths. It's a tough call as to which is worse but I feel that "Up" gets the nod. File it under, "How not to do a Jaws cash in."