Plankton (1994) (V)

User Rating:

3.8/10   

Director:

Massimiliano Cerchi

Writers:

Richard Baumann (screenplay)
Richard Baumann (story)

Release Date:

8 January 2000 (Japan)

Genre:

Horror

Plot Keywords:

Vomit | Abandoned Ship | Explosion | Scientist | Radiation

Cast

Clay Rogers	...	Mike
Michael Bon	...	Bobby
Sharon Twomey	...	Margareth
Laura di Palma	...	Dorothy (as Loren DePalm)
Ann Wolf	...	Julie

Also Known As:

Creatures from the Abyss (Malaysia: English title) (video title) (USA) (video title)
Sea Devils (Philippines: English title) (theatrical title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, violence and some nudity.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Certification:

Germany:16 | UK:15 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Production Film 82

Cheap, gory, trashy, sleazy... LOVED IT!

"Creatures from the Abyss" is an insignificant and very nasty Italian romp that 'borrows' elements from every notable underwater SF/horror film made in the past 25 years. It rips off the obvious classics like "Piranha", "the Abyss" and "The Thing", but it also steals ideas from B-movies of which I never assumed they would have inspired anyone to do the same. Like "DeepStar Six", "The Blob"-remake and even Roger Corman's "Humanoids from the Deep". Don't even consider buying this flick if you got any good taste left in you, as this is really bottom of the barrel camp! We're talking atrocious acting, hilariously bad dialogue ("Hey, that fish has an evil expression!") and grotesque gore that somewhat resemblances the artwork of Screaming Mad George. Nonetheless, I loved watching it simply because it's such dumb and brainless entertainment that doesn't require any involvement whatsoever. The plot centers on five stupid teenagers who planned a nice day at the beach with their rubber boat. They're overcome by a storm and seek shelter on an Oceanographic Research yacht (let's ignore for a moment that they supposedly drifted off to the middle of the Atlantic on that ridiculously small motorized raft...). Despite the ominous setting of the abandoned yacht, they throw a little dinner party and have some sex. Until, finally, one of them (who at least has a little brain capacity) discovers that giant amounts toxic waste poisoned the plankton in the ocean. Seeing that this plankton is an essential food source for many ocean organisms, the fish have mutated and eaten the crew. Some sequences rate very high on the repulsive-scale, like a girl vomiting sea-creatures or a dude transforming into a rancid monster during a sex-act. The nauseating gore actually is the only reason to check the film out, since there's not much tension or intrigue. It's an unusual type of gore for an Italian film, I'll give it that, as it doesn't handle about zombies or mad raving cannibals for a change. The English dubbing is downright painful and easily one of the worst I ever beheld...and that has got to mean something.

"Creatures from the Abyss" is an Italian film made in the 90's. The only Italian genre director who still meant something during this decade was Michele Soavi and he sure as hell didn't have anything to do with this production. That should give you a little idea about how "good" this film is. It's sick, ugly and monstrous! You can either take that as a warning or a recommendation.