Dead Sea (2014)

Jeezus go back to acting school plz....if they even attended to begin with?

A town on a reservoir has to sacrifice one of its own every 20-30 years to appease a serpent we know nothing about, or even see other than occasional glimpses. Note to self: Move somewhere else.That is pretty much it. Some unlikable main characters. Lack of decent dialogue and characters made this a snoozer. Difficult to sit through with so much lack of action.Parental Guide: F-bomb. Brief nudity.

Writer/Director Brandon Slagle's follow up to last year's successful "The Black Dahlia Haunting", "Dead Sea" manages to avoid the sophomore jinx by relying on: strong characters, taut action sequences, and intricate plot threads. Set in a small, lakeside town, this "creature feature" with a brain combines a lot of familiar elements of genre fare into an interesting, fast paced feature.After a violent Gulf War setpiece involving Kier (Slagle) and Castor (Griffith), and a "Piranha" inspired boat party gone horribly wrong, we find marine biologist Victoria (Iacono) returning to her hometown to investigate a recent rash of mysterious fish kills, and we soon learn that her connection to this town isn't all pleasant childhood memories.A large hungry seas beast is awaiting it's next meal, Victoria is making science sexy again while also dealing with daddy issues, Kier and Castor are involved in less-than-legal activities, and Auriel washes up on a beach full of dead fish looking hotter than she did when she went into the drink--these things and more are what make "Dead Sea" a great watch. Throw in a Lovecraft (and more than a few shades of Stephen King) inspired sub-plot involving the entire town and the suspense just ratchets from there.Great performances from an excellent ensemble cast (many ported over from the aforementioned "Black Dahlia") and an engrossing story make the monster almost secondary in this study in small town America and the relationships and secrets that hide just under the surface. Iacono and Pinn are both brilliant, and Griffith's acting chops just keep getting better. Superbly shot, with some really effective underwater camera work, "Dead Sea" is technically sound as well. Slagle's previous efforts are carefully timed exercises in suspense, while containing intricate plots that just suck you in (no pun intended...), and "Dead Sea" shows a director honing his craft. Keeping the plot accessible while maintaining his "signature" style of complex characters, a cerebral narrative, and a strange disconnect between camera and viewer, this is definitely a unique film that keeps the focus more on the players as opposed to dazzling effects. Combining the elements from at least half a dozen sub-genres into an intelligent, cohesive, and ultimately entertaining film is no small task. Slagle and company have proved to up to the challenge--"Dead Sea" is another winner!

I'm already seeing some wildly different opinions on this film. Rather than spend time mudslinging the other reviews or accuse them of being "insiders" or fluff, I'd prefer to analyze why. One actually said "if it was an urban legend film it would be good". Okay, so as an "urban legend" film it works, but as a Syfy channel monster movie it doesn't? Either it's good or not and one shouldn't hold the film responsible for their own misperception. Also if you have to resort to claiming that other reviews "were done by people in the production" then that's a surefire sign of your own lack of any discernible writing skill.Anyway...On to the film. There is a giant lamprey out there, traveling the world and becoming mythic, and if it comes to your land, you had best give it a willing sacrifice, or there is hell to pay. That is the dilemma this unnamed town is facing, and Victoria, a former resident, is facing an even bigger one. She's been assigned to investigate the mass deaths of marine life that happen to be taking place in the town she grew up in and quickly left. It seems this town is one of those where people just don't do any good with their lives.Kier and Castor are also residents of the town, both having severe PTSD from participating in the Afghan War (particularly Kier, who is the most frightening character in the film, moreso than the monster, and NOT poorly acted, contrary to one of the other reviews). Now that many years have passed and they're back at home, they're drug runners, and Castor wants local man Callan (yeah the names are a bit strange) to join in as a "mule". Are their actions over the top? Maybe. They do tread a bit of a fine line in regards to depicting servicemen poorly. Whether or not that was the filmmaker's intention is another question, but it makes sense within the film.Victoria arrives in town and high school sweetheart Kier is not happy about it, and Victoria isn't happy when she accidentally meets up with her father. The scenes between the two actors are NOT what you'd normally expect from this type of film, and are actually surprisingly good and heartfelt, if not a bit strange tonally. Kier and Castor throw Kier's methhead bootie call into the water to see if there are any monsters about, and there are. There's also a lonely, lost town girl who is like a mini-version of Victoria, obviously in a similar life path. Both characters seem to be there for exposition.Lamprey-looking creatures are there, but sparingly. You can tell the film had budget constraints, or perhaps moments of "the creature not working". There are far more guns and profanity than there are creatures, and that's fine. The brief action scenes are actually pretty well done, if not also sticking out like a bit of a sore thumb in this type of film.Despite being a clusterf**k of genres, melding a lot of aspects of drama and action that seem out of place at times and some pretty obvious plot holes, Dead Sea isn't a bad late night or mid-afternoon watch. I don't quite understand why a few "cinephiles" who spend more time illegally downloading films feel the need to berate movies like this when they are already the ones doing a disservice to the filmmakers and distributors by STEALING it, but that's another issue altogether.Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Will you have fun? Maybe.