Sometimes I look at my old reviews and cringe. When I listened to a “How Did This Get Made?” podcast episode ripping into “Deep Blue Sea” (1999) as viciously as one of the film’s smart-sharks rips into flesh, I figured I must’ve overrated it when I picked it for my 1999 top 10. On the other hand, “Deep Blue Sea” often ranks toward the top of shark movie lists, sometimes trailing only “Jaws.”
Schrodinger’s Shark Movie
It’s Schrodinger’s Shark Movie – both laughably bad and an elite example of the genre. Can both views be right? After this rewatch, I judge my younger self – and those lists — to be correct. I’m guessing the haters can’t get past the premise: A scientist (Saffron Burrows’ Susan) accidentally creates three super-smart sharks as part of her work to cure Alzheimer’s.
But the concept is plausible enough for the realm of B-horror movies. Sharks are arguably the most successful large animal in the history of Earth. If you make their brains bigger, it makes sense that they’d quickly become a global danger.
“Deep Blue Sea” (1999)
Director: Renny Harlin
Writers: Duncan Kennedy, Donna Powers, Wayne Powers
Stars: Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Samuel L. Jackson
On Tuesdays this summer, Reviews from My Couch is highlighting classic (and not so classic) shark horror films through the years.
Director Renny Harlin’s film stands on the shoulders of a Steven Spielberg classic, but it’s actually “Jurassic Park” more so than “Jaws.”
But first, to embrace the “Jaws” parallels, we have Trevor Rabin’s score, which takes John Williams’ work and juices it up with steroids. Rabin delivers a grand emotional streak that calls to mind his “Armageddon” score. It’s too much, but because this movie is so intense and fun in its very DNA, it’s OK that it’s too much.
Scientific hubris is “DBS’s” thematic parallel to “Jurassic Park.” Both films are elite examples of the nature-run-amok structure: ominous build-up followed by unrelenting intensity.
Pure intensity
The screenplay by three writers peppers in logistics more efficiently than “Jurassic.” There’s no drawn-out Mr. DNA type of sequence in “DBS.” Rather, scientist Jan (Jacqueline McKenzie) and technician Scoggins (Michael Rapaport) pepper in what we need to know as they explain the set-up to visiting head honcho Russell (Samuel L. Jackson). The film moves briskly, but we can keep up.
The cold-open of young partiers being attacked by an escaped super-shark is standard stuff, but when Carter (Thomas Jane) harpoons the beast, we spin into intriguing sci-fi. It only gets wilder, and better, from there.
With its focus on the process of escaping the rapidly flooding ocean-based facility, “DBS” makes the heroes earn their escape. “Alien Resurrection” (1997) — a film I generally like – includes a sequence where our heroes must navigate a flooded portion of a ship. But it doesn’t make sense, as we later learn there was an easier path they could’ve taken.
A thrilling escape
Most of “DBS” finds our protagonists getting through the wrecked structure en route to the surface level, and the viewer understands every step. In a standout sequence, Carter pries open the door to the flooded Level 2 so it will sweep away the shark, thus allowing the group to continue their climb to Level 1.
The character-building, as always in tight thrillers, doesn’t have time to be extremely deep. But it’s quite good. We understand Susan’s misguided choices, so when she is attacked while retrieving a disk of data (this was before the age of The Cloud), she’s a noble answer to Nedry smuggling dino DNA samples off Isla Nublar.
Simple exchanges establish the romantic bond between scientists Jan and Jim (Stellan Skarsgaard). When Jim becomes the first victim, cuts to Jan’s horrified expression communicate horror to the viewer – even if the ride is so thrilling we don’t have time to be scared. Straightforward friendships, like the one between Scoggins and chef Preacher (LL Cool J), make this a likable bunch whom we want to see survive.
Famous shark shock
“DBS” is famous for the shocking way facility owner Russell bites it. Even people who dislike the film tend to single out that moment as a classic. (Before that, Jackson gets the one-liners we love to hear from him. My favorite: “Was that a goddamn shark broke through that door? … Am I the only asshole down here who thinks that a tad bit odd?”)
But I’m partial to the sequence that launches the whole disaster. Jim’s arm is ripped off by a shark that doesn’t know it’s supposed to be sedated. A jaw-dropping series of Rube Goldberg events ends with several deaths and the facility mostly destroyed. That momentum floods over to the escape trek.
The CGI, while great at the time, is a little waterlogged now, but not laughably bad. The kills are creative, as are the narrow escapes. The logistics and goals are always clear, making “Deep Blue Sea” a smart and technically adept film built on a foundation some viewers can’t get past.