DeepStar Six (dir. Sean S. Cunningham, 1989)
Have you seen The Abyss? You know, the movie James Cameron directed with underwater aliens and that rat dunked into fluorocarbon fluid while the American Humane Association advisor was on their smoke break? It’s good, aside from the animal cruelty. Not that the human cast members fared much better. The production of The Abyss was notoriously long and difficult due to the inherent problems of working underwater and with James Cameron. However, the sheer length of time between pre-production in 1987 and release in August 1989 meant that competitors could make their own lower budget version without nearly killing Ed Harris.
DeepStar Six was one of these films. Directed by Sean S. Cunningham of Friday the 13th fame, the film follows the crew of an underwater base who disturb the ocean floor and release a deadly sea monster. It is very much indebted to both Ridley Scott’s Alien and Cameron’s Aliens with regard to production design, characters, and tone. It’s competently made, and the creature is effectively made. The only really notable actor in the film is Miguel Ferrer, fresh off of RoboCop and wearing only tank tops throughout. I’m also positive that someone on the production team for Deep Blue Sea saw the film, because the scene with Samuel L. Jackson giving his inspiring speech feels very indebted to one in this.
oliveresque 