Dead Calm

Claustrophobic thriller that's definitely a cut above the average. Basically it's a 3 person cast but it definitely works. Husband and wife pick up a mysterious stranger in the middle of the ocean and from there things start to get messy. Sam Neil and Nicole Kidman both did an adequate job with what they had to work with (although I really don't think Nicole Kidman was anything particularly special here) but the star of the show was Billy Zane. He was just fantastic in his role. In Dead Calm he was just so believable and brilliant as the unbalanced stranger with less than good intentions. Hard to believe he's never really been given the opportunity to shine like he did in this film. As far as thrillers go this is one definitely worth watching....Now if only they had managed to deny indulging in the awful cliches that seem to infest even the best thrillers.

If you watch it (especially the end) you'll see what I mean.

Overall

A thriller better than most and once again a much better than average movie without a big budget. Not to mention a good actor (Billy Zane) in his best role ever.

7 Stars out of ten.