Talk about bad timing. No, we're not thinking about the cast of characters who just so happen to board a cruise ship teaming with a horde of hungry critters. We're actually referring to Hollywood Pictures latest release, "Deep Rising," that might as well be called "Shallow Chances." For that best describes its prospects at the domestic box office against that other film about a sinking ocean liner -- um, now what's that one called again? In a bold, but suicidal move, Disney (the parent company) has decided to "damn the torpedoes" and go full steam ahead knowing full well that the waters into which they're sailing are littered with the sunken hulls of other films that dared take on the mighty Titanic. Beyond the timing and the fact that this film deals with a sinking ocean liner, there's also the problem that it has nary an original bone in its body, all of which doesn't bode well for its ability to stay afloat for very long in this competitive sea.
To give it some credit, though, the film makers obviously didn't know they'd face this situation and the film, in all honesty, is of a completely different genre. Still, the movie doesn't stand a chance and should make its way rather quickly to the video shelves. Actually, that's not such a bad thing for that's exactly what type of film this is -- a great video rental. Not pretending to be anything near high art, this movie is nothing more than a conglomeration of scenes and ideas ripped straight out of other, far superior movies.
Watching this picture you can't help but be reminded of the "Alien" movies (heavily armed men walking through wet, dimly lit corridors), the recent giant snake film, "Anaconda," and of course, the doomed cruise ship movies such as "Titanic" and "The Poseidon Adventure" (not to mention the last resurgence of movies featuring underwater monsters such as "Leviathan" and "Deep Star Six" from the late '80's). So many scenes and/or concepts are lifted from all of those films that at times you wonder if you're watching a "greatest moments" montage or perhaps a film that's spoofing those other movies (please, let's not have anyone do that, okay?).
Since the film lacks any originality (other than the special effects involving the creature's appearance that I'll get into in a moment), it decides to make up for the deficiency by pumping up the sound effects (and Jerry Goldsmith's score) as well as the level of "B" movie spunk rarely seen in a "major release." Like I said, this is your stereotypical video rental movie, and if taken on that level, you might just get a kick out of it.
If a film is going to play on that level, it certainly can't have anyone from the "A" list of available actors, but instead must pick and choose from people we recognize, but often can't place in even the last film in which they appeared. Headlining the cast is a great potential "B" movie star, Treat Williams (a two time Golden Globe nominee). Knowing that nobody's going to take this film seriously and that he shouldn't either, Williams sufficiently hams it up in his "I'm getting too old for this stuff" character. When he states that his motto is, "If the cash is there, we don't care," you know exactly what type of character and plot are in store for us.
Famke Janssen (who made a big splash in the James Bond film "Goldeneye") isn't given much to do other than look pretty, but at least she's not the stereotypical "damsel in distress" character. Kevin J. O'Connor ("Lord of Illusions") gets to play and provide the comic relief and has enough funny lines to easily make him the favorite with the audience. Wes Studi ("Dances With Wolves"), however, can't do much with the stereotypical tough guy villain character he's been given, and just plays out his role note by note. The rest of the "bad guys" come from that secret farm where they breed stereotypical tough guys often found in action or "B" movies. Easily interchangeable, but always dangerous and given a few attempts at being funny, these characters (and the people who inhabit them) do their job as being nothing more than bait for the monsters.
Speaking of the film's main attraction, this film's special effects team has delivered a creation that's certainly what director Richard Fleischer and his crew on "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," and special effects guru Ray Harryhausen (1955's "It Came From Beneath The Sea" -- the giant octopus film) would have loved to have used back in their heyday of special effects. Denting metal doors and walls, zipping through the flooded passageways, and generally slithering and whipping about all about the screen, this is the kind of critter guaranteed to give little kids nightmares and FX (special effects) geeks heart palpitations.
It's also another reason the film's suited for home video. The creature moves and tears along in such a blur that a good frame by frame analysis on video is highly needed to see what it's actually doing. If you imagine a crossbreed of Jules Verne's octopus, the snake from "Anaconda" and those fun subterranean creatures from "Tremors," then you'll come close to what this beast is all about.
Despite the fact that we know exactly who will survive and how they'll eventually kill the monster, writer/director Stephen Sommers (the live action version of "The Jungle Book") doesn't show his hand until well into the movie. That fortunately works for the film as we somewhat wonder what the "little fellas" look like, and it lets our imagination do most of the work. Of course we eventually have to see the creatures, and fortunately they're such a "fun" creation that we aren't too disappointed by their appearance (as often happens in similar films).
Sommers definitely knows what his audience wants and adequately delivers the goods -- it's just too bad that he didn't throw anything original into the mix. Beyond the borrowing of scenes and ideas from other films, he unfortunately also provides the customary stupid and illogical behavior that most of the characters exhibit. While it's not quite as bad as the typical horror film -- these characters don't have enough time to react that way -- there are plenty of those precious moments.
When the survivors find themselves in a large room filled to the brim with human remains they just stand there. I'd be saying something like, "Gee, here's the monster's cafeteria -- do any of you guys think, you know, that maybe we should leave -- like right now!" The moment that received the largest collection of groans was when the ship's owner -- when not being the evil opportunist or cowering in stereotypical fear -- spots an island and confidently states, "An island!"
I think the best moment, though, is when Finnegan has discovered that another person has been killed and sits down to ponder and reflect on the day's events (never minding the fact that the creature is about to get him). Of course there's the prime moment when the movie completely hits the depths of "B" movie status, and that's when the creatures suddenly get smart and start closing and sealing off doors to herd the survivors in a particular direction. Had they been smart all along that would have been another matter. Of course I haven't even begun with the fact that the creatures killed several thousand people in a manner of minutes, yet can't quite finish off those last remaining, pesky humans. Perhaps their appetites have been satiated and their motivation is low. Or maybe they read the script, discovered the ending, and figured, "What's the difference anyway?"
Then there's the fact that the survivors desperately want to get off the big cruise ship and board an adjacent, but inoperable and definitely smaller ship. I suppose they can't fathom that those same critters might be on the small boat simply because they didn't read through the script all the way to the end. Speaking of that bigger vessel, this feature does miss the boat (okay, pun intended) by not utilizing the sinking ship aspect even more. While there are a few moments of that, they really should have played that element to the full hilt -- after all, if you've got some sort of giant, octopus-like creature with man-eating tentacles chasing your cast, why not throw in a full-fledged panic by having the ship rapidly sinking?
I suppose it's probably unfair to point out all of those problems since the movie never tries to be anything but a stupidly fun, escapist film. It does succeed on that level -- it's just too bad the film makers couldn't up with something we haven't seen before. If you like films such as "Aliens" where heavily armed guys fire several gazillion rounds of ammo at the creatures that slowly but surely hunt them down and kill them in dark, wet corridors, then this film is for you. On the other hand, if you're looking for the quality or imaginative thrust of those other films, you'd be better off renting them instead. Of course, if you wait just a bit, this one should be there on the shelves alongside them shortly. We give "Deep Rising" a 3 out of 10.