The Rig (2010)

The Charlie oil rig is quite a reputedly finely operated success thanks to the demanding, hard-nosed, intense command of Jim Fleming (William Forsythe), tough on his employees, always expecting them to perform at a high level. Well, this rig will be under quite a threat, not just by the impending storm but creatures unearthed by drilling that seems to have released them from the deep. That's pretty much it in a nutshell. There's these eclipse-black water creatures with scales down their backs, equipped with sharp talons on their fingers, and blue blood that is quite flammable. The film is darkly lit and purposely shot tight to accentuate the claustrophobia and entrapment of an oil rig in the middle of the ocean, trapped in the dark of night as it has become leveled by tropical storm rain. To tell you ahead of time, the monster is never fully bare for us and the editing reassures us that the rubber suited stuntman won't be altogether visible for any long length of time. So critiquing the monster never becomes much of a possibility. Not just the monster but its human carnage also isn't laid bare for us, either. So I can understand why the film isn't highly rated on the imdb. With a quick departure of William Forsythe (in a likable part as a concerned and loving father whose daughter is on the rig with him and in love with one of his employees) and Art LaFleur just primarily limited to the finale when he gets to shotgun one of the monsters, star power is also limited. With an obvious low budget, and murky lighting, not very much gore to be enjoyed on screen for any considerable length, there's just not a lot to recommend here. It takes too long to get to the monster attacks, too. I just don't think The Rig will be worth the while as a Sector 7 (2012) is. It doesn't deliver a bang for the buck. Just watch the awesomeness of Deep Rising (1998) instead.

The characters range from the promising but flawed Dobbs (Scott Martin), bright and chip-off-the-old-block Carey (Serah D'Laine), brawny tough guy with a soft heart Freddy (Stacey Hinnen), feisty bad girl Puerto Rican Rodriguez (Carmen Perez), to fraidy-cat Andrew (Marcus Paulk) and put-upon Scot with a kilt Earl (Dennis LaValle; often at the aggravation of Andrew who farts on him and makes fun of his kilt). None are that particularly interesting. Forsythe's eventual absence is quite noticeable...I guess they paid him just enough for a couple days and not for the film's duration which is a shame. I strongly dislike Walking Dead plotting where a character actor receives a nice dramatic moment that emphasizes his humanity only to kill him off not long after.