Nineteen eighty-nine was the year of underwater movies. With all due respect to The Evil Below and Lords of the Deep, the big three were The Abyss from Twentieth Century Fox, written and directed by James Cameron; Leviathan from MGM, written by David Webb Peoples and Jeb Stuart, and directed by George P. Cosmatos, and DeepStar Six from Tri Star, written by Lewis Abernathy and Geof Miller, and directed by Sean S. Cunningham. Yes, that Sean S. Cunningham, the Producer and Director of the original Friday the 13th, and numerous sequels, many other films, television productions, and more. A man who knows how to make money, which is good because DeepStar Six had a budget of only $8 million, compared to $25 million for Leviathan, and $70 million for The Abyss.
Buy DeepStar Six Blu-rayUnfortunately, none of these films were particularly successful financially. They also had a common theme. People working underwater encounter unfamiliar creatures. The Abyss had aliens, Leviathan had mutants, and DeepStar Six had a monster. I’ve seen all three of these movies several times and I am a fan. They all have redeeming qualities, though The Abyss has one of the worst endings of any science fiction film ever.
[Ron, why are you telling is this!?]
Oh, sorry. DeepStar Six is back with a Special Edition (Blu-ray) on September 30, and there is a ton of bonus material!
In DeepStar Six, Cunningham has secured the best actors he could get for what he had to spend, including: Taurean Blacque, Nancy Everhard, Greg Evigan, Miguel Ferrer, Matt McCoy, Nia Peeples, Cindy Pickett, and Marius Weyers. Cuningham also had many talented people working behind the scenes including Kane Hodder who played Jason Voorhies in several films and served as stunt coordinator here, and Greg Nicoteor, who would go on to work on The Walking Dead, was the creature supervisor on DeepStar Six. The actors play the crew working on the ocean floor, building missile launching platforms for the navy. They accidentally open a cavern that has a monster in it. The monster is mad and starts killing them. No, the monster was not named Jason. I apologize to the three of you who feel that I should have posted a Spoiler Alert.
Look, the story doesn’t have a lot of depth. Oh come on, you knew I would. That doesn’t keep the cast from giving it their all in what is a fun B-movie with a strong fromage factor. The special effects are good; except for the first time we see the monster. I had the pleasure of talking to Nia Peoples about DeepStar Six at a convention. She told the story of the first time the monster appeared. Apparently, it had been kept hidden from the cast until it broke through the water for the first time. According to Nia, the entire cast burst into laughter at the first sight of the creature.
You need to be in the right frame of mind for DeepStar Six, but this new release does get Ron’s Recommendation. This is a fun movie for a rainy Saturday afternoon. Make yourself a big bowl of popcorn and curl up on the couch. Like Nia Peoples and the cast, you may laugh when you see the creature, but you’ll be having fun. Sit back down on Sunday for all the great bonus material including:
- NEW Audio Commentary by Horror-Fix.com’s James G. Chandler and Ash Hamilton
- Audio Commentary with Director Sean S. Cunningham and Visual Effects Supervisor James Isaac
- Audio Commentary with Screenwriters Lewis Abernathy and Geof Miller
- Isolated Score Selections and Audio Interview with Composer Harry Manfredini
- From the Deep: Interviews with Creature Effects & Special Make-up Designer Mark Shostrom, Creature Supervisor Greg Nicotero and Creature Artist Robert Kurtzman
- The Survivors: Interviews with Actors Greg Evigan and Nancy Everhard
- Water Damage: Interview with Stunt Coordinator Kane Hodder
- Original EPK
- Extended Vintage Interview Clips
- Behind-the-Scenes Footage
- Image Gallery
- Theatrical Trailer and TV Spot
I can’t say that DeepStar Six is the best of the three movies mentioned above, but they had the best marketing material. The poster is excellent and has two great statements: “Not all aliens come from space” which I think is an attempt to get the jump on The Abyss which wouldn’t be coming out for several months, and “Save your last breath…to scream”, which is just awesome.
