Deep Rising is a 1998 American action horror film written and directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Treat Williams, Famke Janssen and Anthony Heald. It was distributed by Hollywood Pictures and Cinergi Pictures and released on January 30, 1998. While the film was a critical and box office failure, it has been regarded as a cult classic.
Plot[]
Amidst a storm, Captain John Finnegan and his crew, Joey Pantucci, and Leila are hired by mercenaries Hanover, Mulligan, Mason, Billy, T-Ray, Mamooli, and Vivo to pilot their boat across the South China Sea to an undisclosed rendezvous point. Meanwhile, the Argonautica, a luxury cruise ship built and owned by Simon Canton, is undertaking its maiden voyage when a saboteur disables its navigation and communication systems. Something rises from beneath and rams the vessel, leaving it dead in the water, and the passengers are slaughtered by monstrous creatures.
Finnegan's boat collides with a speedboat shaken loose from the Argonautica. The mercenaries take over and reveal they intend to rob the Argonautica's passengers and vault, before sinking the ship with torpedoes stowed aboard the boat. The group boards the ship, leaving Leila and Billy behind to repair the boat, where they are both killed by the creatures. The group reaches the ballroom only to find blood and no sign of the passengers. Finnegan and Joey go to the ship's workshop to scavenge parts to repair the boat. Meanwhile, T-Ray goes off to investigate unusual noises and is torn to shreds by the creatures. Mamooli contacts Hanover but is dragged off by the creatures, forcing Finnegan and Joey to flee. They run into Trillian, a passenger who was imprisoned for stealing. Meanwhile, Hanover's group reaches the vault and Vivo opens it, only to be mistakenly killed by Canton, who was hiding inside the vault along with Captain Atherton and three other passengers. Mason and Mulligan panic and accidentally kill the passengers.
Canton and Atherton explain to the mercenaries that the ship has been attacked by creatures that killed everyone else on board. Canton is found to be the saboteur, having hired the mercenaries to sink the unprofitable ship so that he could collect on the insurance. The group is attacked by the creatures which eat Atherton. Canton theorizes that the creatures are an evolution of the Ottoia, which drain their victims of their bodily fluids and then eject the carcasses. The survivors flee, but Mason is grabbed by a creature and kills himself by detonating a grenade. Mulligan elects to stay behind in the crew's galley until a rescue party can arrive. While arguing with the others as the creature slips in through the range hood, Mulligan scares it off with fire but is ambushed and devoured by another.
In a running battle, the survivors find themselves being herded towards the bow of the ship and find a "feeding ground" full of skeletal remains. Attempting to rid himself of any witnesses to his insurance scam, Canton misleads the others to the bow while he moves towards an exit route. The creatures break through the hull, flooding the lower decks and separating the survivors. Hanover wounds Joey in an attempt to slow the creatures, but Joey escapes. Joey later finds Hanover being devoured by a creature. As an act of mercy, he leaves Hanover a gun. However, Hanover wastes his only shot trying to kill Joey and is consumed.
Finnegan and Trillian spot an island and return to Finnegan's boat, but—having lost the engine parts—find it useless as a means of escape. Joey returns and begins improvised repairs, and Finnegan sets the boat's autopilot to crash into the Argonautica and detonate the torpedoes. Trillian returns to the cruise ship and locates a jet ski with the fuel they can use to reach the island, but Canton arrives armed with a flare gun. Canton asks Trillian to join him or hand over the keys, but she flees and he chases her. Finnegan pursues Canton to the ballroom on the main deck, saving Trillian. The creatures smash through the main deck and are revealed to be tentacles of a vast deep-sea monster—the Octalus—rather than individual entities. The Octalus grabs hold of Finnegan, who shoots it in the eye, blinding it and freeing himself, and he and Trillian escape on a jet ski. Canton flees the Argonautica by jumping onto Finnegan's boat, but breaks his leg doing so. Crippled, he cannot disable the autopilot and dies as the boat crashes into the Argonautica, detonating the torpedoes and destroying both ships and the Octalus.
Finnegan and Trillian reach the island and reunite with Joey, whom they thought had died. A roar then echoes from the jungle. The island turns out to have an active volcano in the distance as something big comes crashing through the trees towards the beach.
Cast[]
- Treat Williams as John Finnegan
- Famke Janssen as Trillian St. James
- Anthony Heald as Simon Canton
- Kevin J. O'Connor as Joey Pantucci
- Wes Studi as Hanover
- Derrick O'Connor as Captain H.W. Atherton
- Jason Flemyng as Mulligan
- Cliff Curtis as Mamooli
- Clifton Powell as Mason
- Trevor Goddard as T-Ray
- Djimon Hounsou as Vivo
- Una Damon as Leila
- Clint Curtis as Billy
- Warren Takeuchi as Radar Man
- Linden Banks as Communications Officer
- Jack Anker as Corpse
- Anne-Simone as Video Vault Woman
- Leanne Adachi as Toilet Lady
- Melanie Carr as Dealer
- Colin McCarlie as Sonar Man
- Jim May as Mystery Man
- Jana Sommers as Party Girl
- Marti Baldecchi as Party Girl
- Rana Morrison as Woman on Cruise Ship
Production[]
Theatrical Trailer[]
Deep Rising (1998) - Theatrical Trailer