Oceanlab is an experimental station built atop an undersea mountain in the
North Atlantic somewhere off the coast of Canada. An earthquake strikes,
causing the lab to plunge into an unexplored abyss. Three men are trapped
aboard and they have only seven days of oxygen remaining.
After five days, the Oceanlab team is able to call in a retired naval officer, Commander Blake (Gazzara). Using his deep sea submersible "Neptune II," it
is hoped he can locate and rescue the men before they suffocate. The hope is a slim one; all contact with the lab was lost when the earthquake occurred. The submersible must face the hazards of deep sea travel, aftershocks, and some
very unexpected discoveries on the ocean floor.
The cast is unusually strong with Ernest Borgnine, Donnelly Rhodes, Yvette
Mimieux, and Walter Pigeon all putting in good performances. The special
effects are limited to model work for undersea shots, but the models are decent enough given the year of release. The film starts out well with the opening
score being particularly noteworthy. Unfortunately, once the submersible gets in the water, the viewer is taken for a rather dull ride for the bulk of the film. Suspense is largely absent. In lieu of pacing, the filmmakers subject the viewer to a lot of stock fish footage. While this was decent enough, it was overused and probably better suited to a nature documentary. Ultimately, the screenplay
needed some serious work. There is insufficient substance to make this work
even as a one hour Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode. "The Neptune
Factor" otherwise possessed all of the elements necessary to make a successful and compelling adventure film.
