Alright, fellow tapeheads, dim the lights, maybe crack open a Jolt Cola if you can find one, and let’s talk about a movie that practically screamed “RENT ME!” from the shelves of Blockbuster back in the day. I’m talking about 1998’s Deep Rising, a glorious slice of late-90s creature feature mayhem that arrived just before the turn of the millennium changed everything. Finding this tape often felt like unearthing slightly soggy, slightly greasy treasure – you knew you were in for something loud, wet, and probably ridiculous, and boy did it deliver.
### All Aboard the Chaos Cruise
The setup is pure pulp perfection: the maiden voyage of the Argonautica, the world’s most luxurious cruise liner, steaming through the South China Sea. On board? A jewel thief named Trillian St. James, played with icy cool by Famke Janssen (fresh off GoldenEye). Unbeknownst to the champagne-sipping passengers, a heavily armed team of mercenaries led by the ruthless Hanover (Wes Studi, always commanding) plans to hijack and rob the ship blind. What they don't know is that something far more ancient and hungry has already boarded, rising from the abyssal depths. Caught in the middle is John Finnegan, a cynical boat-for-hire captain played with world-weary charm by Treat Williams, and his wisecracking mechanic Joey Pantucci (Kevin J. O'Connor, stealing scenes as always). Finnegan just wants to get paid for delivering the mercs; soon, he just wants to survive.
It’s a classic disaster movie premise slammed headfirst into a monster flick, directed and written by Stephen Sommers. You can absolutely see the DNA here that would lead him to helm the blockbuster smash The Mummy just a year later – the breakneck pacing, the blend of action and jump scares, the slightly goofy but earnest tone, and the penchant for characters spitting out one-liners under extreme duress. Kevin J. O'Connor's Pantucci feels like a direct prototype for some of the comic relief in Sommers' later hits, and indeed, the director clearly liked what he saw, bringing O'Connor back for both The Mummy and Van Helsing.
### Tentacles, Teeth, and Practical Panic
Let's talk about the real star: the monster. Or rather, monsters plural – a swarm of colossal, tentacled nightmares that are essentially digestive tracts with teeth. While Deep Rising certainly leaned heavily on the burgeoning CGI of the late 90s for its main creature reveals (courtesy of ILM, no less, working from designs originally conceived by effects legend Rob Bottin of The Thing fame), there’s still a tactile, messy quality to the chaos that feels wonderfully retro now. Remember how real those scenes felt where tentacles would burst through walls or snatch screaming victims? That often involved practical rigs and puppetry interacting directly with the actors and sets, giving those moments a weight that pure CGI sometimes struggled with back then.
And the practical effects didn't stop there. The sheer amount of water used in this film is staggering. Sets were constantly being flooded, actors were perpetually drenched, and the stunt work involved navigating these waterlogged, tilting corridors. That jet ski chase sequence inside the sinking ship? Pure, unadulterated 90s action movie excess, requiring complex wire work and daring driving from the stunt team within the confines of the studio sets built in Vancouver. It’s gloriously impractical and precisely the kind of bonkers set piece that makes these films endure. There are real explosions, real squibs going off (those bullet hits!), and a general sense of tangible danger that modern, smoother digital effects often sand down.
### A Cast Adrift in Awesome Schlock
Treat Williams absolutely anchors this thing. Finnegan isn't a superhero; he's a slightly shady guy trying to make a buck who gets way in over his head. Reportedly, Harrison Ford was considered for the role, but Williams brings a specific blue-collar charisma that fits perfectly. His mantra, "Now what?", muttered in the face of escalating absurdity, becomes the audience's own. Famke Janssen handles the action well, though she has apparently expressed less-than-fond memories of the production – an interesting tidbit considering Trillian remains a memorable part of the film's cult appeal.
The supporting cast is a murderer’s row of familiar faces. Anthony Heald is deliciously slimy as the ship's owner Canton, the requisite cowardly schemer. The mercenary team includes not just the stoic Wes Studi but also a pre-stardom Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator, Blood Diamond). They all commit fully to the premise, selling the terror and the tough-guy posturing with gusto. Adding another layer of class is the score by the legendary Jerry Goldsmith (Alien, Total Recall), whose thundering, adventurous themes lend the film a sense of scale it might not otherwise earn.
### Sinking at the Box Office, Surfacing as a Cult Fave
Let's be honest, Deep Rising wasn't exactly a critical darling or a box office titan back in '98. Made for a hefty $45 million (that's around $85 million today!), it barely scraped back $11 million domestically. Ouch. Critics were lukewarm at best. But like so many genre flicks from the era, it found its true home on VHS and DVD, passed around by fans who appreciated its unpretentious thrills, quotable lines ("If the cash is there, we do not care!"), and relentless monster action.
It’s the kind of movie tailor-made for a late-night watch with friends, where you can cheer the kills, laugh at the cheesy lines, and admire the sheer audacity of it all. And who can forget that infamous final shot? The setup for a sequel involving Skull Island (yes, that Skull Island, presumably) that sadly never materialized, leaving fans wondering "what if?" for decades.
Rating: 7/10
The score reflects what Deep Rising is: a top-tier B-movie executed with A-list (for the time) effects and energy. It's flawed, sure. The CGI shows its age, and the plot isn’t exactly complex. But the review above highlights its strengths: great cast chemistry, Treat Williams' perfect lead performance, fantastic practical stunt work and waterlogged chaos, Stephen Sommers' energetic direction, and that undeniable Jerry Goldsmith score. It delivers exactly the kind of high-octane, creature-filled fun it promises on the tin (or, well, the VHS box).
Final Thought: Deep Rising is a glorious relic of a time when big, dumb, practical-effect-heavy action horror could still get a decent budget and aim purely to entertain. It’s wet, wild, and wears its pulpy heart on its tentacled sleeve – a perfect storm of 90s monster movie madness that still slaps today. Now what? Rewatch it, obviously.