Dead in the Water

An icebreaker vessel in the far Pacific with an all-female crew rescue a stranger from the ocean and are then forced to fight for their lives against an unknown enemy while a massive storm looms.

"Dead in the Water" (2018) is a TV thriller/horror that combines "Dead Calm" (1989) with "Alien/Aliens" (1979/1986) and maybe a little bit o' "Ghost Ship" (2002). While it's not as good as any of those flicks, it's not bad. The movie was shot on an actual vessel, a small one, but the surrounding sea is cartoonish CGI and it's too obvious.

If you can get past that, the actresses are all convincing and the script builds some suspense as the truth about what's really going on is slowly unveiled. I liked the tie-in to the Marianas Trench, the deepest natural point in the world located in the Western Pacific, and the F/X concerning the corresponding component (I'm trying to be vague) are quite good, unlike the fake-looking waters around the ship.

To be expected in a situation like this, none of the women are made out to be alluring sirens. It's a research vessel amidst a storm and they're all appareled with work clothes. Nevertheless, they're a diverse group with most of them being appealing, one way or another. My favorite is Sparks (Christia Visser).

The movie runs 1 hour, 30 minutes. REST OF CAST: Nikohl Boosheri (Dana), Nicole Fortuin (Kat), Bianca Simone Mannie (Gwen), Skye Russell (Rusty), Tanya van Graan (Erika), Amy Louise Wilson (Michelle) and Brandon Auret (Stranger).

GRADE: C+/B-

This had a fair amount of atmosphere for the first hour and was well crafted with the budget. Reviews are very skewed and unfair these days with people rating this a 1 which means it is the worst movie you have ever seen...really?

No to be fair this is at least a 5/10 as I always try and base my reviews on the acting and budget as well as all the other things that make up a movie and to be fair the acting was not that bad and the atmosphere, model ship and wave effects were pretty convincing apart from when they were actually on the ship and it was obvious someone was spraying with a hose lol but that is something one should be used to with low budget horror films and unlike most Scifi channel productions this one comes out on top of the usual dross.

The only part where it was let down was with the creature itself although i did like the use of THE STRAIN wispy tendril effects used on many other movies like THE SAND and other horrors as it does have a rather sinister and scary vibe going on. It fails mostly on the lack of tension towards the last half of the film and like most low budgeters these days it seems to run out of steam mid way to the end.

All in all a decent nights viewing and much better than most of the nonsense I have watched lately so gets a fair slightly above average 5.5/10 from me!

There are great creature/alien movies: Everything from Alien to The Thing. And then there's this. But, I like Sci-Fi's movies...they are just the thing when I just want to veg or otherwise occupy my time while doing other things, with something on in the background. Nothing new here except an all-female crew. Basically clueless crew gets into trouble of their own making, an alien/creature attacks, the make bad decisions and turn on each other. Regular cast of characters playing the roles we know so well, weakling, survivalist, martyr. Completely formulaic. On the plus side, there was very minimal CGI; most of it was 'live action'.

A crew brings aboard a guy who is infested with some unknown parasite and causes real havoc on the all female crew ship, and they all start being killed. This film just reminded me on why I don't watch the syfy channel.

Kill me. Kill yourselves. End this.

Although the opening scene with the "Amphitrite" (a kind of fishing boat) traveling across the ocean looked really cheap in terms of "special effects", the rest of the film wasn't so bad. The ocean scene really looked as if it was a toy boat filmed in a bathtub. But besides this, don't expect extraordinary things. The acting was sometimes disappointing and felt amateurish. And the story itself is sort of "Alien" on the ocean instead of somewhere on a planet in a galaxy far, far away. Especially the fact that it's a "SyFy Original" made me shudder a bit. I like low-budget and indie films, but "SyFy" films don't excel when it comes to originality. And even though it had a real low budget feeling at certain moments, there were also a number of positive things to be found.

The most striking thing about the film is that the crew only consists of women. Maybe this fits in with the "MeToo" atmosphere of today, but a little male support on this ship would have been welcome. Even if it was just to tighten a bolt here and there, or force a steel door. But I have to admit that this club of Greenpeace militants could stand their ground. Their determination is admirable. That was noticeable during the pursuit of a fishing boat, fishing illegally in these parts of the world. The brash way Gwen (Bianca Simone Mannie) whips the old sloop across the ocean, isn't only bad for Michelle's stomach (Amy Louise Wilson), but it's also not so good for the coughing engine. The result is a failing engine while a storm front is coming their way. And a ship without a motor in the center of a storm is doomed to disappear to the seabed. And as icing on the cake, Michelle thinks she has seen a drowning man. And that man appears to be a kind of Trojan horse. Because, before they fully realize it, there's a parasitic creature that slithers over the ship through all possible escape routes.

As I said before, the movie isn't really original and borrows a lot from other well-known films such as "The Thing" or "Life". But it's mainly the film "Alien" you think about while watching certain scenes. If you know the "facehugger" phenomenon, you understand what I mean. The main problem of this film is the quality fluctuations. There are excellent special effects and next, you'll see effects that are completely worthless. And it alternates regularly. For example, I found the autopsy scene extremely successful. And the next moment the organism looks like withered seaweed that glides around and sticks to windows. But fortunately, it wasn't of the same level as those ocean waves.

The same for the acting. The seven female crew members really convinced me at certain moments. At other times it came across as implausible. Maybe it was due to the limited freedom of movement. At a certain moment, it seemed as if they were constantly running from the control cabin to the engine room. On the other hand, this limitation makes it fairly claustrophobic. It's certainly exciting enough at certain times. Such a creepy atmosphere where people know that danger can strike from every corner. So if you like movies with murderous organisms, then you will like this SyFy movie. However, don't be fooled by the film poster. It is not a huge blubbery creature like I thought from the beginning. The illustration is cleverly put together.