DEEP BLUE SEA [1999]

Deep Blue Sea (1999)
Directed by: Renny Harlin
Written by: Donna Powers, Duncan Kennedy, Wayne Powers
Starring: Jacqueline McKenzie, LL Cool J, Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane

USA 

AVAILABLE ON 4K ULTRA HD AND STANDARD BLU-RAY: 17th Marcb, from ARROW VIDEO

RUNNING TIME: 105 mins

REVIEWED BY: Dr Lenera
In high hopes of attracting investors for her Alzheimer’s disease research, Dr Susan McCallister invites executive Russell Franklin to Aquatica: a state-of-the-art underwater laboratory in the middle of the ocean where Susan has found a way to genetically enlarge shark brains so that disease-battling enzymes can be harvested. However, one of the three Mako sharks concerned has already escaped and nearly killed four teenagers on a pleasure boat who were saved just in the nick of time by shark wrangler Carter Blake, and their intelligence has now also increased. When a freak storm causes chaos on the surface, making it impossible to leave, the facility is flooded and the crew must fight to survive against the rising water and the hungry sharks that now swim freely through the corridors….

There are some subjects where one particular film is so good, and indeed seminal, that nothing that follows could realistically hope to match it. Take exorcisms for example; there have certainly been some good offerings, but a certain movie from 1974 will probably always remain the best. And it’s the same with sharks. Jaws will probably never be beaten or even matched, even though I certainly thrilled to the likes of Open Water and The Shallows, though considering how scary there probably ought to be more really good shark pictures than there actually are. Maybe one day we’ll get the story of the U.S.S. Indianapolis done properly and well, unlike the mess that came out. That would be great. But for now we have Deep Blue Sea sometimes being mentioned as the second best shark movie. I’m not sure that’s really the case, there have certainly been more frightening ones, but it could possibly be the most entertaining one. Sort of Jaws meets Alien, it sets out to deliver a whole load of ‘B’ movie-style fun, and definitely succeeds, its small cast of characters solid enough for us to care about them between the frequent perils they have to suffer, most but not all of them being three super-intelligent sharks, the film never missing a single chance for a thrill, while director Renny Harlin [Cliffhanger, Die Hard 2, The Long Kiss Goodnight] maintains the tension expertly even though he could maybe kept us scared a bit more – these are sharks for goodness sake, and very clever ones. The tone is otherwise just right though; there are certainly chuckles and one character who initially seems to just be there for laughs, yet they don’t undercut the seriousness of the situation and said character turns out to be the most likeable and relatable in the whole film, LL Cool J delivering probably his best and most memorable performance – even though he’s playing a part originally intended for Samuel A. Jackson, whose agent didn’t want him playing a cook!

Australian screenwriter Duncan Kennedy witnessed the horrific result of a shark attack on a beach near his home, then suffered from a recurring nightmare of him being in a passageway with sharks that could read his mind, which motivated him to write a spec script. Warners bought it in 1994 though actual development didn’t begin until two years later, with Kennedy doing nine drafts and several other writers doing others. When Harlin was chosen to direct, he gave the script to Donna and Wayne Powers, who turned it into the final draft. According to Wayne, “The draft we were first presented with was much more of a military espionage, high-tech action movie, grenade launchers, that kind of thing. We wanted our team to include more blue-collar types and not to have weapons to fight back, to play it more as a horror film”. Kennedy still said that the final film “was very much the movie I’d envisioned in terms of the visuals, the world, the story journey and the audience experience.”. Harlin created the role of Russell Franklin for Jackson when he couldn’t play the cook, Filming took place mostly at Fox Baja Studios in Rosarito, Mexico, where the production team constructed sets above the large water tanks that had been built for Titanic. Harlin said it was the hardest film he’d ever made because most days involved the team standing in water or being under water for long periods. “And things that you wouldn’t think would ever float, they float. Or then things that you hope would float actually sink and you can’t find them anywhere.” A scene of lots of water falling onto the cast wasn’t actually supposed to happen. After previews the ending was changed so that another character died, probably a good idea since the film was a hit.

Deep Blue Sea opens in familiar manner, then springs a surprise. After the dramatic musical swell as the production logos appear, and a shot of the sea from above, we’re on a boat, watching a guy and a girl getting it on in the open. Cuts to underwater shark footage, especially a shot of the girl’s leg seen from the shark’s point of view, can’t help but recall, and probably deliberately recall, Jaws, while some of us might also getting slasher movie vibes [ remember kids, have sex at your peril], but the sequence goes on for far longer than we expect, the couple then getting up to dance, before it’s revealed that another couple is also there, which is quite a surprise. The boat starts to rock and a bottle of wine is knocked over, the vino spilling into the sea looking just like blood: this wino felt saddened at the waste. Suddenly a shark bursts through the middle of the boat, and it looks like curtains for our young adults, but then they’re suddenly saved by shark wrangler Carter Blake, who shoots darts into the shark and reigns it back somewhere. This whole sequence really is well handled and gets things off to a fine start. We cut to a helicopter landing and a discussion between Chimera Pharmaceuticals executive Russell Franklin and doctor Susan McCallister. Russell is worried about how their financial backers, who’ve sunk $200M into the research, will receive the information that this shark got out of its enclosure and nearly killed four people, but, says Susan, “okay, we’ve had some problems at the facility, but what we were attempting to achieve here has never been done, we’re this close to the reactivation of a human blood cell”! Russell is still unsure, but is more willing to invest his time in investigating when Susan manipulatively tells him about her mother dying of cancer, and “what if you could end all that suffering with a single pill”?

The facility, named Aquatica, was originally built by the Navy as a submarine refueling station during WW2, and has now been extended a considerable amount. We learn a bit about an incident involving Russell in the past; we’re given more information later. “We were just trying to do something together, having fun, things went bad”. “But you saved all those people”. “Not all”. Russell and Susan arrive at Aquatica and meet Carter, marine biologist Janice Higgins,  engineer Tom Scoggins who’s adamant that he closed the titanium-laced pens so none of the sharks could have got out, scientist Jim  Whitlock and cook Sherman “Preacher” Dudley. Everyone else is leaving for the weekend. After being summoned to one of the pens and submitted to just a little bit of fear, Susan has her birthday celebrated, and Russell, who shows how manly he is by riding a shark intended as food for the somewhat different other three [“two first generation female, one second“] and removing a number plate from its mouth [another Jaws reference with more to follow], before showing a bit of interest in her, is told not to say anything to Russell about how Jim violated the code of ethics and genetically engineered the sharks to increase their brain size, with the side effect of the sharks getting both larger and smarter, else she’ll fire him and with Carter’s criminal background, he’ll never work anywhere else. I rather like the interactions of all the characters and wouldn’t have minded more buildup, but this is the ’90s, not the ’70s. Gale force winds and heavy rain are coming, then one of the “modified” sharks bites off Jim’s right arm. Susan releases it before Carter can kill it, then Brenda Kerns, the tower’s operator, calls a helicopter to evacuate Jim, but as he’s being lifted, the cable jams and causes Jim to fall into the main shark pen. The largest shark grabs the stretcher and pulls the helicopter into the tower, killing Brenda and the pilots, as well as causing massive explosions that severely damage Aquatica.

Yes, all this is extremely contrived, but do we really mind? In the laboratory, Susan, Russell, Carter, Janice and Tom witness the shark smash the stretcher against the laboratory’s main window, which then shatters, drowning Jim and flooding the facility. The rest of the film is our characters trying to survive not just sharks who can do things normal sharks can’t do such as swim backwards who can pop out at any moment at any moment to gorily chomp, but other perils that one might encounter from a large craft that’s gradually sinking and falling apart. It’s nice having Mako ones, who are fast and can actually leap high, instead of the usual variety. The animatronic sharks look great, though the CGI are of rather dubious quality as befits their age, but the shots of them tend to be quick, and Harlin and company did go to the Bahamas to film some real shark material to cut into the plentiful underwater footage. it’s almost seamless. The only thing about them that really irked me is that they frequently change size; for example they’re supposed to be growing yet at least one is able swim in water that looks like it’s only one meters deep without you seeing the fin nor tail, though this lifelong fan of the likes of Ray Harryhausen shouldn’t really be too bothered about things like that. And, while as I’ve said before things aren’t quite as scary as perhaps they should be considering that it’s “improved” creatures who just want to eat and don’t stop moving we have here, they remain exciting, and it’s established quite early that anybody can die which really helps the tension. Slight slow motion increases the effect of some of the major scenes, not to mention a shot that seamlessly takes us through a window into the sea which was highly impressive indeed at the time. When one is having so much fun, it’s possible to forgive inconsistencies such as a shark being able to break a metal door but not the glass door to a kitchen oven.

While no time is given to proper scientific debate, we’re righty angered at the abuse of science, yet we’re also allowed to see Susan’s point of view. As someone who’s had more than one family member suffer from Alzheimer’s which is such an upsetting condition, I can understand why Susan is so driven for a cure, even if it’s all her fault that everything happens in the film. Saffron Burrows is allowed to reveal some vulnerability in the role, even if I could have done with a bit more – but then this is a popcorn movie above all else. And, seeing as this is the ’90s so before such a thing was considered to be un-PC, she gets to strip to her underwear. Yay! I’ve never really warmed to Thomas Jane, but we believe that his character can hold his breath underwater for absolutely ages. Jackson is really in more of a supporting role but gets the most memorable scene in the entire film [if you know, you know]. However, Cool J, who spends much of his time away from the rest of the cast, might leave the strongest impression; he may be comic relief but is also the most rounded character. I’m not a fan of bringing racial humour into something like this, but he delivers possibly cringeworthy lines such as “brothers never make it out of situations like this, not ever” in a perfect manner. When Preacher records a heartfelt message as a failed husband and father before saying how to cook a good omelette, it seems so right for the character. Deep Blue Sea rarely forgets the all-important human element yet also delivers plentiful thrills and just an all-round good time!

4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negatives by Arrow Films approved by director Renny Harlin

4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation
I have yet to go 4k, largely because of finances, so my notes on this release can be found lower down in the LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS section

Original DTS HD-MA 5.1 and Dolby Atmos audio options

Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

Brand new audio commentary by filmmaker and critic Rebekah McKendry

Brand new audio commentary by screenwriter Duncan Kennedy

Archive audio commentary by director Renny Harlin and star Samuel L. Jackson

From the Frying pan… into the Studio Tank, a new interview with production designer William Sandellv [25 mins]

Beneath the Surface, a new visual essay by film critic Trace Thurman [19 mins]

When Sharks Attack: The Making of Deep Blue Sea, an archive featurette

The Sharks of the Deep Blue Sea, an archive featurette

Deleted Scenes with optional audio commentary by director Renny Harlin

Theatrical Trailer

Image Gallery

Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Luke Preece 60-page perfect bound collectors book containing new writing by film critics Josh Hurtado, Jennie Kermode, and Murray Leeder, plus previously unseen production art and designs

Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Luke Preece

Postcards from Aquatica

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY CONTENTS

Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negatives by Arrow Films approved by director Renny Harlin

High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
I own the DVD, to which this is a very significant upgrade indeed, though it’s no doubt also a very significant upgrade over the older Blu-ray too. The picture is slightly darker than the DVD, but this is probably a more accurate representation of the cinema release. Of course a lot of the film consists of greys and blues, but everything is so much more detailed than before, and the moments when bright colours suddenly come forth are hugely effective. Grain is pretty evenly managed even during most of the visual effects shots, skins tones are just perfect, and I didn’t notice a single instance of damage. A terrific restoration that almost makes the film look now. Fantastic job!

Brand new audio commentary by filmmaker and critic Rebekah McKendry
I love it when a commentator straight away gets our interest and lets us know we’re in for a great track, and McKendry, previously unknown to me but who’s the co-host of a podcast called Colors Of The Dark, immediately shows her suitability for this job when she says that “it kind of fulfills some wild childhood fantasy of mine to get to talk about my love of shark films”, which was started by Jaws which both scared and fascinated her as a kid. Indeed her enthusiasm throughout for the movie is evident and a joy to hear, even when it’s just expressing sheer enjoyment of what’s happening onscreen, and she sells her admiration of things like the writing which actually made the film seem even better to me. She doesn’t go into production stuff, but she does remind us of how it would have been such a hard shoot due to all the water, that the film’s premise isn’t as far fetched as it might seem due to sharks having brains which don’t degrade, and why the thing just works! She admits that she has a bit of support for the final shark at the end. Well, so do I.

Brand new audio commentary by screenwriter Duncan Kennedy
I always think that screenwriters must be annoyed at having to do multiple rewrites and their work being changed by others, but Kennedy, who unlike many writers was often on set so recalls quite a bit, seems to have a balanced point of view about it all here as he details virtually all the alterations that were made to his work. He seems to really like the film, and reminds us of what a big deal Harlin was at the time, but he does tell is that there was more science and more of Susan [who was more sympathetic] in the original draft, while later on characters were merged then unmerged, scenes moved from outside to inside to save some money [he clearly thinks that’s a shame]….and we lost a battle between a submersible and a shark, which is a darn shame if you ask me. The mechanical sharks were later reused in The Perfect Storm! Kennedy mentions some things he doesn’t like; for example, he loves what’s the film’s most memorable death though considers the last few seconds, where a shark goes back into the water, to be below par. Interesting that Warners were worried about some scenes being too similar to ones in Alien: Resurrection. I found this track to be totally fascinating from beginning to end.

Archive audio commentary by director Renny Harlin and star Samuel L. Jackson
On the DVD release was this rather fine track, only really disappointing when Jackson bails out early. The two sound like they weren’t in the same room and are perhaps not even interacting with each other, the track just joining their comments together, but that’s not really a problem, because their enthusiasm for the film is so strong and what they say is almost always worth listening too. Harlin points out some instances of CGI which may not have been apparent [it certainly wasn’t all apparent to me even with this release which would surely have made such things more obvious?], tells us that money was saved by blowing up the sets for real when they were finished with rather than building then destroying miniatures, and describes a mass invasion of crickets while people were trying to sleep during the day from night shooting. Jackson describes a good scene in an early script draft where there were too chefs and one died saving the by putting his bloody hand in the water, imitates Michael Rappaport talking like a black man, and says, regarding Cool J’s head bruise, “pay attention to it, it might move”.  Both men are fun to listen to and obviously feel that what was such a tough shoot was very much worth it.

From the Frying Pan… into the Studio Tank, a new interview with production designer William Sandell [25 mins]
We don’t often hear much from production designers, so this track, from a guy who’s worked on a lot of films  [the first major one being Mean Streets for which he borrowed furniture from his parents]and for a while was so much in demand that he turned loads of projects down, is very welcome. Sandell, photographed with lots of constructions he’s built over his life for pleasure, started off with Roger Corman, and if you worked for him you’d be doing a wide variety of jobs. For Deep Blue Sea, he says that he was asked to cancel a very major holiday and take over when the previous production designer and his staff “said no too many times”. Sandell shows pictures of what had already been down, which he was certainly impressed by. Unfortunately one of the mechanical sharks went out of control and destroyed four of five cameras on the first day of shooting.

Beneath the Surface, a new visual essay by film critic Trace Thurman [19 mins]
Thurman looks at Deep Blue Sea from a Freudian point of view, the film apparently belonging in a genre where women are monsters, which is because of the Oedipus complex which occurs during the phallic stage of a child’s development, Susan embodying the “phallic woman” with Aquatica representing her womb while the sharks represent threatening vaginas. As I always am, I’m going to be honest here; I couldn’t take much of what Thurman says seriously, and seriously disliked his comment “who said that misogyny is dead”? regarding preview audiences wanting Susan to be killed when there would surely have been plenty of women attending these showings too. But Thurman’s take is different and will no doubt provide  plenty of food for thought for some viewers.

When Sharks Attack: The Making of Deep Blue Sea, an archive featurette [15 mins]
The next three featurettes were on the DVD. This one, full screen just like the others, contains some nice behind the scenes footage, especially the shooting of two death scenes and really rather exciting material where people are filming real sharks underwater in cages. Harlin says “I wanted to really terrorise the audience” and we get a nice passage about Trevor Rabin’s musical score with footage of him rehearsing with the orchestra.

The Sharks of the Deep Blue Sea, an archive featurette [8 mins]
Here we have the animatronic sharks discussed, which took eight months to create, then a bit about the CGI ones, before a look at two major death scenes which employ animatronic ones and a still pretty impressive shot of a CG shark grabbing someone. Jackson says about the script, “it read a lot dryer”.

Deleted scenes with optional audio commentary by director Renny Harlin [8 mins]
It sounds like a lot more material was cut, especially between Russell and Susan, and this would have been to see, but we still some interesting stuff here which was mostly removed to speed the pace up. There’s more of Susan’s birthday party including her giving a speech, Janice waking up in bed with Jim and being pregnant, more of Preacher in a corridor and two minoy character moments between Janice and Susan, and Carter and Tom.

Theatrical trailer

Image gallery

Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Luke Preece

60-page perfect bound collector’s book containing new writing by film critics Josh Hurtado, Jennie Kermode, and Murray Leeder, plus previously unseen production art and designs

Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Luke Preece

Postcards from Aquatica

A genuine highlight from a time when Hollywood liked making films like this and audiences liked going to see them, “Deep Blue Sea” retains it very high entertainment factor and gets a fitting release from Arrow Films with stunning picture quality and comprehensive special features. Highly Recommended!