Dead Calm (1989)

The Worst Film Ever

hyped garbage

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Released in 1989, "Dead Calm" is the story of a grieving Australian couple vacationing 1200 miles from land on their yacht in the South Pacific (Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman). Horror ensues after they rescue a stranger from a small dinghy (Billy Zane) and the built-in protections of civilization are nowhere to be found."Dead Calm" is one of the greatest horror/thrillers ever made. The "monster" is human – a psycho nut job -- which isn't anything new, of course. It's the confined location of the open sea and the cut-off-from-the-world atmosphere that make "Dead Calm" great, along with all-around excellent filmmaking, including the breathtaking cinematography and magnificent score by Graeme Revell.Neill shows that he has the gravitas to carry a film as the male protagonist, which is why he was snagged for 1993's "Jurassic Park." Kidman similarly shines as the female protagonist in her first major motion picture. Incidentally, Neill was 41 and Kidman 21 at the time of filming. Likewise, Zane de-shines as the antagonist and shows why he was picked for the villain of 1997's "Titanic." There's not much dialogue because this is a visually/musically based film and not dialogue-driven. As such, the acting HAS to be absolutely convincing, and so it is.The film runs 96 minutes and was shot off the east coast of Australia (Gold Coast, Great Barrier Reef, etc.).GRADE: A

Decent thriller. Original setting and plot. Good direction by Phillip Noyce: good build-up and tension is maintained well. Could easily have degenerated into usual psychological-drama/slasher-horror stuff but there are enough sub-plots and ebbs and flows to keep it interesting.On the down side, some parts of the plot feel contrived and implausible.Good work from Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman in the lead roles, and even Billy Zane is okay in his role. Interesting to note that this was Kidman's last movie before hitting the Hollywood big time (and meeting Tom Cruise...). Her next movie was Days of Thunder...

This is a gripping movie starring Nicole Kidman and Sam Niell as Rae and John Ingram, who sets sail to the Pacific Ocean and come across a near-deserted yacht boarded by Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane). After John discovers the yacht's horrible secret, Hughie kidnaps Rae and takes over and her husband's boat, leaving John stranded and Rae struggling to take back control of their boat.With believable acting and intense drama, this is a thrilling movie from start to finish. Terry Hayes wrote a great screenplay and Phillip Noyce got some great direction going, keeping the movie full of surprises and the plot's momentum going strong from beginning to end.This movie is edge-of-your excitement that makes you glued to the screen, wondering how our protagonists are going to survive their ordeal. It's gripping fun.Grade B+

After somehow getting the title confused for years with the Nicole Kidman starring, 1995 Gus Van Sant movie To Die For, (I guess that I got mixed up thanks to both of these Kidman films having a connection with death in the titles!)I was pleasantly caught off guard,when a very kind IMDb'er recently gave me the chance to find out how calm these deadly waters really are.The plot:Struggling to cope over the death of their young son in a car crash,Rae and John Ingram decide to set sail on boat to the high seas,in the hope that they will both be able to find some sort of spiritual peace from the endless sea.Being in the middle of nowhere with no islands in sight,Rae and John are surprised to spot an abandoned boat that has been left out at sea.Attempting to make contact via radio,the Ingram's notice a man sailing towards them from the ship in a lifeboat.Jumping out of the lifeboat,the man reveals himself to be Hughie Warriner,who claims that he is the only survivor on the ship,after a hole in the boat started it to sink,and also a deadly case of food poisoning killing all of Warriner's other crew members.Sensing a strong amount of anxiousness from Hughie,John decides to leave Rae to relax on the boat as Warriner's sleeps so that he can take a close look at the sinking ship,which John will discovers contains a horror that will set the storm alight.View on the film:Limiting almost the whole movie to 3 locations, (including the sea!) director Phillip Noyce shows a skillful eye in taking advantage of the movies limited locations,thanks to Noyce using tightly coiled side angle's,which along with creating a claustrophobic atmosphere,also show that the Ingram's have no where to escape from the terror that has crashed into their boat.Whilst the movie does feature a few moments of questionable logic, (if you ever get the chance to knock the psycho out,don't let the nutter just sleep it off!) writer Terry Hayes adaptation of Charles Williams novel keeps the film sailing on the high seas,as Hayes gradually cranks up the Thriller's tension to a lightning fast pace.Along with the razor sharp Thriller elements,Hayes also makes sure to never lose sight of the spiritual healing that the Ingram's have gone in search for,with Hayes showing the deadly dangers that they face,to be a thread which sows John and Rae's relationship together.Getting aboard a boat 8 years before he was to set sail with director James Cameron on an obscure 1997 film,Billy Zane gives a chilling performance as Warriner,with Zane showing Warriner's creepy vibe pour out of his skin,as he begins targeting the Ingram's by showing them that only Hughie is the one who is allowed control of the boat.Although they have a 20 year gap between each other,Sam Neil and Nicole Kidman each give strong performances,with Neil subtlety showing the sun fade from John's face as he starts fearing for his wife,whilst Kidman gradually transforms Rae from a fragile shell,into an extremely focus woman,whose determined to make sure that she and John survive the deadly calm high tide which has landed on their boat.