Leviathan (1989)

Underwater deep-sea miners encounter a Soviet wreck and bring back a dangerous cargo to their base on the ocean floor with horrifying results. In a story owing a lot to _Alien_ and _The ... See full summary »

Director:

George P. Cosmatos

Writers:

David Webb Peoples (story), David Webb Peoples (screenplay),

Stars:

Peter Weller, Richard Crenna, Amanda Pays

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Weller	...	Steven Beck
Richard Crenna	...	Dr. Glen 'Doc' Thompson
Amanda Pays	...	Elizabeth 'Willie' Williams
Daniel Stern	...	Buzz 'Sixpack' Parrish
Ernie Hudson	...	Justin Jones
Michael Carmine	...	Tony 'DeJesus' Rodero
Lisa Eilbacher	...	Bridget Bowman
Hector Elizondo	...	G. P. Cobb
Meg Foster	...	Ms. Martin
Eugene Lipinski	...	Russian Ship Captain (as Eugene Lipinsky)
Larry Dolgin	...	Helicopter Pilot
Pascal Druant	...	Winch Operator
Steve Pelot	...	Winch Operator

Storyline

Underwater deep-sea miners encounter a Soviet wreck and bring back a dangerous cargo to their base on the ocean floor with horrifying results. In a story owing a lot to _Alien_ and _The Thing_, the crew of the mining base must fight to survive against a genetic mutation that hunts them down one by one. Part of a wave of underwater movies including _The Abyss_ and _Deep Star Six_.

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Plot Keywords:

underwater | mining | mutation | nickname | flare | 

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Taglines:

It will leave you gasping for air...

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 March 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Havets hämnare

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Gross:

$15,704,614 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmauro, Gordon Company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the sleeve notes on the DVD, a dry for wet lighting test by Alec Thomson used an old army tank for the wreck of the Leviathan,and some make shift diving suits were made using padded football suits and helmets from 2010:The Year We Make Contact.The final suits in the film were designed by Steve Burg and built by Stan Winston's crew.

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Goofs

When Willie falls off the ridge, you see her walking among some large tube worms. Immediately before she says "My God", the worm to her left clearly shows a vertical seam where the left/right pieces of the worm were glued together.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Martin: How do you feel?
Steven Beck: [punches her] Better. A lot better.

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Connections

References The Thing (1982)

User Reviews

"Rambo, come rescue me!"

Honestly, that's the line that seems to be running through Richard Crenna's mind throughout this flick. As if he can't imagine why he is in this pic.

Basically, Leviathan is probably the best of the '89 glut of aqua-horror-action movies. It's made on a decent budget (unlike DeepStar Six) and doesn't have bloated pretensions of greatness (unlike The Abyss). It's got a decent cast (hey, Hector Elizondo is a class act!) who seem to know they're not making a classic here, but are willing to give it their all for what is basically a cheesy horror flick.

The plot also seems to at least bother to explain itself (unlike DeepStar Six, there' s an explanation for the monster). The cast is likeable (Peter Weller's another can't-miss sort of actor). I wouldn't give it high marks, but it's competently done.