The Rift (1990)

Siren II, a submarine under the command of Capt. Phillips, ventures into the deep on a mission to recover the missing Siren I. Their quest is hindered when the submarine becomes entangled in a patch of toxic seaweed.

Director:

Juan Piquer Simón (as J.P. Simon)

Writers:

Juan Piquer Simón (story) (as J.P. Simon), Mark Klein (story)

Stars:

Jack Scalia, R. Lee Ermey, Ray Wise

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Scalia	...	Wick Hayes
R. Lee Ermey	...	Capt. Phillips
Ray Wise	...	Robbins
Deborah Adair	...	Lt. Nina Crowley
John Toles-Bey	...	Joe Kane (as John Toles Bey)
Ely Pouget	...	Ana Rivera
Emilio Linder	...	Philippe
Tony Isbert	...	Fleming
Álvaro Labra	...	Carlo
Luis Lorenzo	...	Francisco
Frank Braña	...	Muller
Pocholo Martínez-Bordiú	...	Sven (as J. Martinez Bordiu)
Edmund Purdom	...	CEO Steensland
Garrick Hagon	...	Barton (as Garick Hagon)
James Aubrey	...	Contek 1

Storyline

An experimental submarine, the "Siren II", is sent to find out what happened to the "Siren I", which has mysteriously disappeared in a submarine rift. Things go awry when they begin to find things that shouldn't be there.

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Plot Keywords:

kaiju | gore | blood splatter | creature feature | woman wears a gas mask | 

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Taglines:

'You Can't Hold your Breath & Scream at the Same Time'

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Juan Piquer Simón had an interpreter present on the set to help him give directions to the American cast members due to the fact that he wasn't fluent in English.

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Goofs

The Siren II was descending to a depth of 45K feet when it was attacked. The deepest point on Earth is the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean which is about 36K feet. This has been confirmed by satellite imaging, sonar and topography maps.

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Connections

Featured in R. Lee Ermey on 'The Rift' (2016)

User Reviews

Co-production Spanish-US with international cast and submarine adventures

The underwater sub called Syren 1 is disappeared at a depth of 30.000 feet , and his designer named Wick (Jack Scalia) is sent down by NATO (main chief played by Edmund Purdom) to investigate it . The mission on board a sub called Syren 2 is commanded by a stiff captain (R. Lee Ermey) , the crew is formed by a misfit group (Ray Wise , John Toles Bey , Emilio Linder , Ely Pouget , Frank Braña) and a scientific (Deborah Adair) , former Wick's love interest . Tracking a black box signal , the submarine heads to the deep rift where they find several surprises and dangers . The danger below is now the danger within . 'You Can't Hold your Breath & Scream at the Same Time'

This Sci-Fi/fantasy movie packs a blending of various films , as the deep rift with astonishing monsters (Leviathan , Deepstar six) , a crew saboteur (Alien) , a giant mother of creepy monsters (Aliens) and abysmal underwater mystery with weird beings (Abyss) . Acceptable interpretation and good acting by Lee Ermey , as always , who brings nice performance as a stiff-upper-lip commander , his usual role . The passable secondary cast is full of Spanish actors , such as : Frank Braña , Luis Lorenzo , Tony Isbert and even Pocholo Martinez Bordiú , grandson of dictator Francisco Franco . Cheesy but enjoyable special effects and creatures by Colin Arthur (The Neverending story) . Scale models and functional maquette work by Emilio Ruiz del Rio and Francisco Prosper . Atmospheric and colorful cinematography by Juan Marine , Juan Piquer's ordinary cameraman . Thrilling and adjusted musical score by Joel Goldsmith , Jerry Goldsmith's son . It's produced in middling budget by Francesca DeLaurentiis , daughter of the great Dino . Francesca hired David Coleman to rewrite a 250 pages draft by Colin Wilson . At the beginning the yarn was set in outer space in an earlier draft of the storyline but then was subsequently deemed an underwater setting , providing more stirring and fantastic scenarios . After producing Leviathan (1989) for about $40 million , Dino De Laurentiis , albeit uncredited, decided to finance for his daughter Francesca this medium budget version of his own bigger budgeted movie .

The picture was professionally directed by Juan Piquer Simon (Slugs , Pieces , Extraterrestrials visitors , Supersonic Man), and also producer . The principal shooting for this film lasted eight weeks . Moreover , an additional editing for fourteen weeks was spent by shooting the special effects being carried out by Colin Arthur and Emilio Ruiz Del Rio . Rating : Average but entertaining.

Details

Country:

Spain USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 July 1990 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Endless Descent

Filming Locations:

El Ferrol, A Coruña, Galicia, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$1,300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company, Dister Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1