Retro Horror Review ‘Deep Rising’: ‘Titanic’ meets ‘Aliens’ in this Action-Horror Gore Fest

We continue our look at classic and not-so-classic aquatic horror with the 1998 action-horror film Deep Rising. A movie that asks the critical question;what if the Titanic was infested with monstrous Octopus and its seemingly endless supply of tentacles with mouths with razor-sharp teeth on the ends?

Deep Rising was written and directed by Stephen Sommers, who would later create the Mummy franchise. Starring Treat Williams (Hair), Anthony Heald (Silence of the lambs), Famke Janssen (Golden Eye), Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator), Wes Studi (Dances with wolves), and Kevin J O’Connor (the Mummy)

Our hero, Captain John Finnegan (Williams), and first mate Pantucci (O’Connor) have been hired by a group of mercenaries led by Hanover (Studi) to take them to a rendezvous point in the south China sea. It doesn’t take a long to realize these gruff muscle-bound passengers are up to no good, and when the reveal is made, only Pantucci seems to be shocked.

On her maiden voyage, the Argonautica, a luxury casino cruise ship owned and built by Simon Canton (Heald), has its navigation system sabotaged. Then, a large unknown object rises from the ocean depths and crashes into the vessel, leaving it dead in the water. In the ensuing attack, many passengers are dispatched, including one memorable scene of a woman getting sucked into a toilet. Hold on tight, folks; it’s only going to get weirder from here. 

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When Finnegan’s boat collides with an adrift speed boat that fell from the now drifting cruise ship, the hull is damaged, and they begin to take on water. The mercenaries reveal they’re here to hijack the Argonautica. Once aboard, however, they get more than they bargained for, as this luxury liner is now a ghost ship. The hijackers are left confused and angry with no signs of the guests or crew, minus a lot of blood.

Finnegan and Pantucci find a machine shop to scavenge parts to repair his ship while under the guard of two henchmen. They run into Trillian (Janssen), a jewel thief who has been locked in the galley before the chaos of earlier. Hanover, his right-hand man Vivo (Hounsou), and what’s left of his unit head to the ship’s vault. Once they’ve broken in, they discover Canton and the cruise liner captain hiding there.

Realizing that there is a creature on board with an appetite for humans, this motley crew must make their way to the boat’s bow and return to Finnegan’s ship. But Canton, who has been keeping secrets of his own, will use any trick he knows to ensure there are no witnesses to his criminal scheme.

Sommers was still honing his craft here, and what he delivered was a fast-paced disaster B movie with a giant man-eating octopus. Monster versus thieves is a fun premise, and it gave that in spades. Everyone in the cast appears to know what they’re making and seems to enjoy it. I love the Brendan Frasier Mummy movies, and you can see the seeds for that type of action-adventure comedy in the bones of Deep Rising. However, where The Mummy has nuance in characters, everyone is a Tough guy, even the women in this one. Well, maybe not Pantucci.

Deep Rising went through a lot to be made. Harrison Ford was initially set to play the role of Finnegan, but when he dropped out, so did half the budget. Claire Forlani (Mallrats) had started filming as Trillian but walked off the project three days in. Despite setbacks and what could have been, Williams and Janssen play well off each other, and both have the snappy delivery which serves their characters well. Still, who wouldn’t want to see Han Solo himself battle a monster Octopus while riding on a jet ski.

The Oculus, as it’s been named, was designed by renowned FX artist Rob Bottin (The Thing). The digital versions of the creature were handled by none other than ILM (Industrial Light and Magic). There is a reason that despite all the campiness going on around it, the creature effects are incredible.

Deep Rising uses a lot of practical effects as well, including a mixture of the two for some of the digestion sequences where we find people half-consumed still causing a scene. Yes, there is a lot of gore in this movie. At one point, we come across a swimming pool filled with human remains that look like the aftermath of a plate of wings  that have been vanquished. The gore, the merrier, as they say.

For those evenings when you just want to watch big guns fire at enormous monsters, Heists, and large body counts, all while secretly being a back door prequel to a King Kong remake that didn’t happen, Deep Rising is your next watch. It’s silly and funny while being gross with some fantastic monster effects and action set pieces. It’s B movie aesthetics with a blockbuster budget, so just sit back and enjoy the carnage. 3.5/5

★★★★

Deep Rising is available to rent or own on Amazon. What did you think of this film? Leave a comment below and let us know! Be sure to follow ScaryNerd for all things horror, sci-fi and more.

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