Sea of Fear

I love film, even bad film, but this one was just too filled with technical mistakes, bad dialogue and, for a movie about a sailboat, contained more sailboat related inaccuracies than Wiley Coyote has relative to physics. There was one scene, in particular, where someone wrapped a line around a self tailing winch, in a way that would have jammed and taken a long time to fix.

Other major problems, a 50 foot boat is just too small for 7 people, let alone, an official captain and navigator. Captains of boat under 100 feet do not normally bark orders like "everyone on deck", and never have their own navigator. I am not sure where this is all supposed to have taken place, but the tropical fish that they showed could be found in an aquarium, or in India or Australia. They showed giant kelp beds, like you would find in California, and then stock footage of fish that could not be found anywhere near California.

Had the plot been interesting, maybe I would not have focused in on these details, but I can tell you that this master director/producer/writer must have very little experience with sailboats. Cute girls, nice boat, and lots of pretty backdrops, but crazy inane dialogue and a plot as thin as consume'.

I normally like to recommend bad movies, this one I cannot.

Despite the fact that I have been a fan of Edward Albert's since a teenager, this film is hardly worth mentioning in his filmography. Albert plays a captain of a sailboat for hire, catering to what looks like rejects from the Laguna Beach set. The movie is pointless, and irritatingly confusing but just silly enough for you to get a chuckle from the fun you are going to be making of it. Of course there is the clichéd scenes dear to every post Jaws rip off that include sharks, and islands. But in this film, these features were especially badly done. One wonders why animal activists didn't applaud the makers of Sea of Fear for making the fish more agreeable than the people. Oh, let me also mention that there is a preposterous "pirate" song rendition added as "atmosphere". I could not understand the words, nor could I possible believe Mr. Albert was at all serious when he gruffs his way through a couple of stanzas. I am not so sure the actor who played "Tom", singing it at the end of the film felt quite the same way. Anyhow, the actors, aside from Mr. Albert are unknown and unknowable, and I hope they did something creative and perhaps compassionate with the money they earned from this stinker. Goodness knows,the producers had no mercy on us.

The acting in this film, while not great, is solid throughout and visually there are many instances that look wonderful. The problems start and end with the plot itself. Watching this film you need to totally suspend belief to the level you would expect from watching anime featuring giant robots versus demon swordsman. This is rarely a good thing when watching horror where a touch of realism is almost always required to keep the mood. So much in this film is either totally impossible or just tossed in with no hint of explanation as to why it is even in the movie. The ending helps explain somethings while being unexplainable itself. This movie pushes the limit of being a waste of time and it would be difficult to even list it as mindless horror entertainment. There is very little that is horrific about this movie. Even for a PG-13 movie, there is better horror being shown on basic cable television daily.

Sea of Fear was exhilarating from start to finish. I usually figure out the "who done it" well before the end of a scary movie, but this one had me stymied. I was taken by complete surprise when the villains were revealed at the end. In my opinion, that is the best sign of a fear-flick done well. The acting was top-notch. Both women in the movie were excellent at portraying their characters. Kate was totally captivating. I was enthralled by her low and sexy voice. She made all her scenes thoroughly realistic. This is not a movie for people who aren't prepared to "jump" with fright. Take my word for it, and rent this movie. I will recommend it to all my co-workers in the morning.It is well worth the watch. Enjoy!!!

Sea of Fear has some things going for it. The camera work wasn't too bad and the lighting was better than expected. The acting was pretty raw, perhaps in a few more years the young cast will ripen. A pay check for Edward Albert as he had a relatively small role. The story is about a group of young people that pay an old captain that take a boat trip to party and have some fun. They tell some spooky stories, drink a few beers, down some rum, and then start dying off. Sort of a twisted ending, but not unlike some other films of the recent past. It's worth a watch, but keep the remote handy so you can FF past some of the languishing melodramatic dialog.