Deep Rising (1998)

Plot; The captain and crew of a boat for hire and a group of mercenaries find themselves locked in a battle for survival against tentacled monsters aboard a doomed luxury liner. The ironic thing about B-movies not aspiring to be more than that is that as a result they often end up being more than that. Deep Rising is one such movie. Directed by Stephen Sommers (who would perfect that craft with his next movie, The Mummy) it plays like an amalgam of The Poseidon Adventure and Aliens. Never pausing long enough for its seams to show, the quips and clips are each emptied and reloaded with an almost gleeful vigor by its top notch cast. Headlined by the immensely underrated and underappreciated Treat Williams, they know exactly what kind of movie they're in, and the movie is all the better for it.Deep Rising ain't high art, but it is good fun, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Just like the big bug or alien movies of the 1950's, Them, The Blob, Deadly Mantis etc, the one thing that all of these and countless others just like them had in common is that none of them made any sense, had very questionable or impossible science and guns were largely useless. So it is with Deep Rising; a 90's version of a 50's Sci-Fi theme.Basically, a team of mercenaries are sent to rob a luxury cruise liner that has been rendered crippled on purpose by the owner of the ship in an effort to claim the heist on tax. Passengers and crew were meant to escape in the lifeboats while the ship was deliberately scuttled, eliminating all clues pointing to it being an inside job. Unfortunately once the ship was sabotaged it was attacked by large worm-like sea monsters that wipe out the majority of the people on board. Once the mercenaries arrive and realise what they're up against, it's a fight for survival while they try and find a way off the sinking ship and not get eaten in the process. It's a simple, almost arcade game style monster movie. In a word, Deep Rising is dumb, but it doesn't set out to be anything different than that. Just like those movies of old, there's very little story, the same implausible science and despite the odd decent casting choice, we get some very 2 dimensional acting from all concerned. You won't get any character development in this, whatever you see of a person in the first 5 seconds is exactly how they'll be right up until their death. However in spite of all this, Deep Rising works as it never takes itself seriously. It's a prefect late night TV movie where your brain is at that stage of shutting down for the night but you're not quite ready for bed yet. There's enough blood & gore and enough decent CGI action to keep you watching until the inevitable showdown with the boss monster at the end. The end where the last remaining 2 decide to blow up the cruise ship are pretty good with the explosion sequence being a highlight. Deep Rising is worthy enough for late night viewing but it's not worth the money to warrant owning your own copy.

"Deep Rising" is not meant to be taken the least bit seriously unlike other creature features like the Alien films and Pitch Black (which I very much highly recommend you watch). Instead, Stephen Sommers keeps his tongue firmly tucked in his cheek, leading to a campy cruise most reminiscent of Tremors. If there's at least one thing to credit Deep Rising for, it has the look of a summer blockbuster. The 50 million dollar budget is large (especially for a campy action/horror film) and all the special effects are put to good use. The creature effects are well done and makes for a fun encounter between the survivors and the creature's main body. Rob Bottin, noted for the gory effects in The Thing, succeeds again though the creation in this film may not be as well remembered as some of his other works.The film overall, is very entertaining and the two problems I had with it was that I wish we could've seen the massacre but that leads to my other problem, it was a pretty long movie, but it was awesome non the less. The Director (Stephan Sommers) really shows how he wants the humor to balance with the horrors that definitely shows just as much in "The Mummy 1 & 2" and "Van Helsing"! Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Deep Rising (1998) for me is one of the best underrated monster horror movie from the 90's!! I love this movie to death every time I see it, it takes my breath away and I wish there would be a sequel and explained what happened to characters. It is definitely one of the most underrated action horror flicks. It is one of my favorite best film from the Director Stephen Sommers before he made The Mummy. This film and The Mummy and The Mummy Returns are the only movies from Stephen Sommers that I love, the rest of his movies I don't watch! quality keeps you on the edge of your chair good scene for a film. It doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is -- your standard creature action film. This is a really fun no brainer of a movie. It doesn't have a great story line, but the action and creature are great! So if you just want to watch a fun gory movie where there are good guys, bad guys, the pretty woman thrown in and a monster. This is perfect! This is the movie for people that just wanna watch a movie. Deep Rising is what you classify as great monster movie, with a story that's all too clear and characters that'll make you wonder what'd happen if they were in Aliens. The jokes don't stop, the action doesn't stop, and the editors did a great job on the cutting room floor. No fat, all meat... Or drink as it goes in this one. This film is genius. Great cast, Great story, Great SFX, Big budget. Laughs, Thrills….This movie has it all, yet no one has heard of it! If you like a fun, corny adventure movie….look no further! Treat Williams, Famke Janssen and Wes Studi are just great chemistry. I've probably watched this movie 10+ times over the years….like your best pair of slippers! Buckle up for edge-of-your seat excitement with the explosive hit Deep Rising, an unstoppable high seas action thriller that moves at full scream ahead! When a band of ruthless hijackers invade the world's most luxurious cruise ship, they're shocked to discover the passengers have mysteriously vanished! But that doesn't mean they are alone! Something terrifying is lurking just out of sight: a deadly force from the unexplored depths of the ocean that begins to snatch the horrified intruders one by one! Treat Willliams (The Devil's Own) and sexy Famke Janssen (Goldeneye, Rounders) lead a group of survivors who must overcome incredible odds in their breathtaking battle to escape the doomed ship alive! That is the basic plot about a cruise ship who gets hijacked by a sea monster who eats and drinks people and spits out the bones. A team of mercenaries are the only survivors on this ship and they have to fight for their own survival.It's Die Hard meets Alien meets Titanic!!!! I love this film to death it has my favorite actress in it Famke Janssen from GoldenEye (1995) my favorite James Bond 007 movie! Why would anyone thought that this movie suck? I don't get it! I didn't saw this movie about 10.years ago until just 2.days back and honestly this movie took my breath away. I never saw any monster movie eating people like that ever. Deep Rising was Stephen Sommers movie which he directed. And I thought the movie was one of the best action paced horror movie. I was surprised to see Famke Janssen in this movie she stared in James Bond 007 GoldenEye one of my best Bond movies as the main villain opposite of Sean Bean. First I thought the awesome women in this flick was Izabella Scorupco because she looked a like Izabella Scorupco from GoldenEye. But I was surprised to see Famke Janssen in this awesome flick from Stephen Sommers.This is the second time Trevor Goddard played an Australian, the last time I saw him played an Australian was in Baywatch Season 3 In Episode Fatal Exchange in 1993. I seriously miss this actor and it is a terrible and sad, that this awesome actor is no longer with us anymore. May he rest in peace (1962 - 2003). This movie failed in the Box office but it was still a fun ride. I think this is Treat Williams's favorite film he ever made! I love it to death! For me this movie is a 10 not a 6 or 7 a perfect 10. This movie does not deserve to be bashed or hated I always love it. great film! as far as the "action-scify-horror" genre this one's up there with the best, and there's only 5 or 6 proper ones out there, so that says a lot!. the more I watch it the more I like it. Shame they stopped doing films like these (with a proper budget I mean). I'm disappointed it never had a sequel though.Deep Rising is a 1998 American action horror film directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Treat Williams, Famke Janssen and Anthony Heald. It was distributed by Hollywood Pictures and Cinergi Pictures and released on January 30, 1998.10/10 Grade: Bad Ass Seal Of Approval Studio: Calimari Productions, Cinergi Pictures Entertainment, Hollywood Pictures Starring: Treat Williams. Famke Janssen, Kevin J. O'Connor, Anthony Heald, Wes Studi, Derrick O'Connor, Cliff Curtis, Una Damon, Djimon Hounsou, Jason Flemyng, Clifton Powell, Trevor Goddard Director: Stephen Sommers Producers: John Baldecchi, Mario Iscovich, Laurence Mark Screenplay: Stephen Sommers, Robert mark Kamen Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 46 Mins. Budget: $45.000.000 Box Office: $11,203,026