DeepStar Six (1989) *

Revisited the critically maligned Sean Cunningham underwater monster movie from 1989. Still calculating thoughts on it, but I'll say this movie isn't concerned with stacking the deck in terms of over plotting or literately complicating the dialogue or its effects. What you'd expect to see is here. The monster reminded me of the underground creatures popping up outta the desert in Tremors (1990). The mouth splits open and its body seems all head and tail. I gotta say that I wasn't all that jazzed about it this go-around. Good cast, though. Miguel Ferrer is especially memorable as a questionably lame control operator for DeepStar Six. He spooks easy enough that he hops in an escape pod with decompression problems. He tries leaving behind members of the crew. Chew time before positing an analysis befitting it from a creature feature fan point of view. Some solid low budget special effects considering how much Cameron paid for his visionary The Abyss. Evigan and Nancy Everhard make for a competent couple/leads anchoring it all. For the time being, I'll concede that the critical take by those with their poison pens regarding its originality have a point. It doesn't reinvent the wheel or attempt to redefine it's genre of movie.

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There are scenes of flooding compartments, the monster taking a chomp out of a horrified Matt McCoy (and that charmer's smile and banter)while in his JIM suit, Evigan and Everhard determining if they will make it out as a potential couple intact, the discovery that Everhard is pregnant, mention of the captain's returning home to his family and how he "has it made" certifying his doom which does come in an accidental hatch giving way and closing on top of him, Nia Peeples unable to resist McCoy's flirting, infighting due to their construction platform being behind and how it's site is home to the cavern which produces the monster, disposable cast members offering fun characterizations while they have the chance, the monster somehow surviving electrocution despite Pickett bringing out the shock paddles, Ferrer constantly grumpy asshole with everyone who rib him when they get the chance, and the construction coordinator played by Marius Weyers getting a cattle prod to the back as Ferrer looks on in horror. Following protocol actually turns matters worse as Ferrer doesn't intentionally set off missiles, the loss of equipment leads to a mission to retrieve it ending badly, and Cunningham casts his alum Ronn Carroll in another small part. Surprised Elya Baskin was given so little to do...he wasn't far removed from 2010 (1984).