Deep Rising (1998)

Director:

Stephen Sommers

Writer (WGA):

Stephen Sommers (written by)

Release Date:

30 January 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

This ain't no pleasure cruise

Plot:

A group of heavily armed hijackers board a luxury ocean liner in the South Pacific Ocean to loot it, only to do battle with a series of large-sized, tentacled, man-eating sea creatures who have taken over the ship first.

Plot Keywords:

Ocean | Monster | Luxury | Ship | Hijacker

Cast

Treat Williams	...	Finnegan
Famke Janssen	...	Trillian
Anthony Heald	...	Simon Canton
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Joey Pantucci
Wes Studi	...	Hanover
Derrick O'Connor	...	Captain
Jason Flemyng	...	Mulligan
Cliff Curtis	...	Mamooli
Clifton Powell	...	Mason
Trevor Goddard	...	T. Ray
Djimon Hounsou	...	Vivo
Una Damon	...	Leila
Clint Curtis	...	Billy
Warren Takeuchi	...	Radar Man (as Warren T. Takeuchi)
Linden Banks	...	Communications Officer

Also Known As:

Tentacle (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sci-fi violence and gore.

Runtime:

106 min | Germany:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Korean | English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | USA:R (certificate #35415) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | Canada:PG (Alberta) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KT | Chile:14 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Calimari Productions

Trivia:

In the original script, John Finnegan's catchphrase was "what now?" In the film it was changed to "now what?"

Goofs:

Continuity: Joey loses his rifle in the hallway but when he get to the boat and talks to Finnigan it is in his hand again, then missing when they get ready to escape.

Quotes:

Finnegan: [First lines] How we doin' out there, Leila?
Leila: Fuck you! How you doing, my ass! I'm totally soaked out here.
Finnegan: Aw, come on now, I pay you two bucks a day, don't I?
Leila: Get off your lazy ass and come and help me!
Finnegan: Cut me some slack, will ya? I'm workin' hard too, you know.
[Plays card games on his radar computer]

Movie Connections:

References Ghost Busters (1984)

Soundtrack:

Fujin

That Thing From the Deep

This is one fun, intense monster movie. They blew it with the title (what the hell does Deep Rising actually mean? - Things From the Deep would have at least meant what it was), but the execution was admirable. This came out the same time as "Phantoms," which depicted a lot of people disappearing on land; in this one, a lot of 'em disappear at sea, on The Argonautica, the latest fancy cruise ship. As in Phantoms, the monster is tough to kill and human beings are easy prey. Like Phantoms, this was ignored at the box office, unlike the director's later hits, "The Mummy" movies. But it has the same level of entertainment. The band of mercs, along with a few other reluctant tag-alongs, make for a darkly funny ensemble as they make their way through the new ship of horrors. O'Connor provides a lot of the humor with wry line delivery, but lead actor Williams is also amusing. As the corrupt ship owner, Heald also steals a scene or two, and turns out to be the only one knowledgeable (for some odd reason) on these monsters infesting the ship. The creature or creatures really are horrible to see in their work - there's some gross mass death scene stuff going on, at odds with the humor; it's almost as if the characters need that humor to keep from going crazy, though some of them do anyway. Janssen, as the main femme fatale among the macho men, does some of her best work here. There's a good, chilling atmosphere in the constant rain and the dark, in the middle of the ocean somewhere. There are no real slow spots and many viewers will probably want to check this out again someday soon. You can do much worse than kick back with this pic on a dark night.