Leviathan

The first half of "Leviathan" is competently made and surprisingly absorbing, with strongly drawn characters and good acting all around. In the second half, the film degenerates into an "Alien" rip-off (and later on, it even steals a classic scene from "Jaws"), with derivative special effects and too many familiar elements. But it is saved (and gets 6/10) by Cosmatos' professionalism; he certainly redeems himself here for making the absolutely terrible "Cobra" three years earlier.

This movie is always going to be compared to Deep Star Six and The Abyss, because all three films came out at the same time. It is an underwater "Alien" movie, but it doesn't rip off The Abyss, which came out third of the three and none of them did any real business.

Anyway, this movie was one of those films that is engrossing in the theater and transfers very poorly to television and video. I would venture a guess that a wide-screen DVD version may be able to pick-up most of the considerable detail that was placed into this film. The acting is not awful and the story is well-paced, which is a step ahead of the other two 1989 underwater movies. This isn't Shakespere folks, so don't expect it. A little more polish to the script would have helped this movie greatly, but it is a fairly B horror flick so it was expected.

The cast is Weller, Hudson, Crenna, and Pays doing their things. They don't exactly phone it in, but they aren't expected to deliver that many lines convincingly anyway. Whatever happened to Amanada Pays? After seeing this I thought she had a chance to break through, but instead she disappeared.

The setting and special effects are the keys to this one, though. Visually, it is as tough as they come. Like I wrote before, stick to the DVD version, because I already know the VHS version stinks because it is so cloudy and out of focus. Watch the DVD and I can almost guarantee that you will find this movie to be better than you have been lead to believe by others.

An interesting case for sci-fi fans and a missed opportunity for the director, having a generally decent cast, a sufficient budget and a story, let's say 'not overused enough for that time'. The totally obvious Alien rip-off is technically surprisingly well executed and pleases with almost top notch set designs and very good creature effects. Now that all this didn't make an absolutely satisfying, or actually even really good sci-fi movie can be blamed on the lack of tight pacing in the script, occasionally bad editing or I guess generally the rather inconsistent lead of George P. Cosmatos, resulting uncalled-for moments of amateur filmmaking entering into a movie otherwise to be taken serious. These then start accumulating and gradually getting out of control as the movie gains speed (among others resulting conversations on the subjects of popcorn and puzzles) and then ultimately explode into a 5 minute orgy of total C-Movie crap, actually even added after the anyways forgettable climax of the movie (how the hell did that happen by the way?). Otherwise, we can say, that the first 2/3rd of the movie is pretty okay, not counting a few minor downers and then gradually messes up in the finale. In the end you decide weather it was worth watching or not. Though for genre fans I guess this is absolutely obligatory.

However, that is not to say that it isn't entertaining, because it is. The film is about a group of undersea miners who discover a Soviet wreck. The wreck contains a potion that of course, one of the crew members has to drink. The potion turns out to be a formula that turns people into reptile like monsters that will eventually spread their symptoms to everybody else on board.

We have seen this all before. The Thing, the Alien series, The Deep, etc all have one idea or another that were thrown into this film. You have got the creature that takes over people's bodies(Alien, The Thing), the blood supply being depleted by the creature(The Thing), the remainder of the crew trying to escape the ship in a limited amount of time before it self destructs(Alien), and the scene where all of the guys are sitting around eating, talking about sex and other things(Alien).

This movie could have been a lot better if they had thrown something original into it. Why not use more comic relief? That may have spiced up the film a bit. However, the film is not that bad and if you cannot find anymore decent sci-fi horror films to view, this one may just be up your alley.

Ah, yes, underwater sci-fi (and horror). From 'The abyss,' to 'SeaQuest,' to 2020's 'Underwater,' and everything in between, the niche genre has been a darling of enterprising filmmakers and studio executives. Reliably solid production design and art direction, robust effects and enticing designs for any associated creatures or entities, large casts, swell scores from well-known composers - 1989's 'Leviathan' fits the bill neatly. It really does look and sound great, and one notes what seems to me to be a fairly large budget to capitalize on what was at the time quite a trend in film. I'm not saying it's the most wholly engaging and essential of pictures, but this is a pretty good time all the same.

To repeat myself a bit, the contributions of all those behind the scenes are terrific. Costume design, hair and makeup work, effects practical and digital, props and weapons, set design and decoration, lighting, and all other such elements are superb; the facilities of the mining operation are a feast for the eyes. Direction, cinematography, editing, and the fundamentals of film-making are tight, with fine production values. There are recognizable names and faces among the ensemble, and I think everyone on hand gives swell performances.

More substantively, I think the screenplay is pretty capable in general. Characters and dialogue sometimes leave a bit to be desired, but the narrative is pretty strong, even if it's familiar in broad strokes. The scene writing is the best part of David Peoples and Jeb Stuart's contribution, with light humor in the suitable exposition that quickly gives way to growing mystery and mounting horror. And that's really the key: one could assess every little aspect day in and day out, but at the end of the day the real question is how effectively the sci-fi horror is realized - and in my opinion it's splendidly strong in 'Leviathan.' Yes, one can immediately discern clear inspiration from very famous previous titles, in multiple instances to the point of pure mimicry. That's a sure mark against this, but taken in and of itself the marine monster movie is stimulating and satisfying. The picture is filled with tinges of body horror, flashes of action-horror, and an abundance of creature feature fun. All the blood and gore, prosthetics, and fabricated creature effects are outstanding; for the strength of these alone I'd say 'Leviathan' is worth watching.

What it all comes down to for me is that by and large I think this is perfectly entertaining, with fantastic exploration of what sci-fi horror could be in the underwater setting. While it's imperfect in the first place, the biggest limiting factor is simply how how the picture undeniably borrows. If you've seen John Carpenter's 'The thing,' and if you've seen Ridley Scott's 'Alien,' then there's no small amount of George P. Cosmatos' 'Leviathan' that's going to feel recycled. It looks, sounds, and feels good, but the comparisons are so significant that they distinctly distract and detract from the viewing experience. I suppose on that note that the good news is, if you're approaching this with virginal eyes, it's going to be better still. For whatever issues it may bear, though, this is still a flick that's a sturdy recommendation for fans of the cast, and for the genre overall. So long as you don't mind abject parroting, 'Leviathan' is satisfyingly enjoyable, and not a bad way to spend 100 minutes.