Leviathan (1989)

Undersea monsters are nothing new to film. The ocean is a lot like outer space as a background in Alien. Here, we aren’t in outer space but rather probing the depths of our own ocean space. A hapless crew works out, snaps towels on each other, and one by one encounter a life form that is growing.

Leviathan (1989)
R | 1h 38min | Adventure, Horror, Mystery | 17 March 1989 (USA)

An American deep-sea mining colony stumbles upon a sunken Soviet vessel hiding a horrific secret.
Director: George P. Cosmatos
Writers: David Webb Peoples (story) (as David Peoples), David Webb Peoples (screenplay) (as David Peoples) | 1 more credit »
Stars: Peter Weller, Richard Crenna, Amanda Pays

An impressive star-studded cast develops a far-reaching sense of fear aboard a deep sea submarine. It feels scientific but soon we start feeling there is something evil on board. The effects aren’t great but good enough to scare. Questions of what this thing could be are raised an different answers are given.

It seems fairly early on that the entire cast may be wiped out. The final scene has the aura of a Die Hard ending. That’s probably because in 1989, most action films were as such. This film is great fun for its time and I highly recommend it. It’s far from perfect but it has all the elements needed for an engaging, entertaining, undersea, sci-fi horror.

8/10