Deepstar Six 1989 Full Movie

[Brayan Jacobsen]

DeepStarSix (released in the Philippines as Alien from the Deep) is a 1989 American science-fiction horror film directed and co-produced by Sean S. Cunningham. Its plot follows the crew of the titular underwater military outpost, who struggle to defend their base against the attacks of a sea monster (possibly a giant eurypterid). The film's cast includes Greg Evigan, Taurean Blacque, Nancy Everhard, Cindy Pickett, Miguel Ferrer, Nia Peeples, and Matt McCoy.

DeepStar Six is an experimental deep-sea US Naval facility, crewed by a mix of 11 military and civilians, now in the final week of their tour. The project is headed by John Van Gelder, to test underwater colonization methods, while overseeing the installation of a new nuclear missile storage platform. Already nearing his deadline, Van Gelder's plans are threatened when geologist Burciaga discovers a massive cavern system under the site. Van Gelder orders the use of depth charges to collapse the cavern, to the dismay of Dr. Scarpelli, who wants to study the potentially primordial ecosystem inside.

The ensuing detonation collapses part of the seabed, forming a massive fissure in the ocean floor. Submarine "Sea Crab" pilots Osborne and Hodges send an unmanned probe to explore, but lose contact and venture in after it. Upon finding the probe, they detect a large sonar contact moments before being attacked and killed by an unseen entity. The aggressor then attacks the observation pod "Sea Star", leaving Joyce Collins and a dying Burciaga trapped inside as it teeters on the edge of the ravine. Captain Laidlaw and submarine "Dsrw" pilot McBride - who is also Collins' lover - attempt a rescue. They dock with the pod and rescue Collins, but the unstable hatch door closes on Laidlaw. Mortally wounded, he floods the compartment, forcing McBride and Collins to return to their "Dsrw" submarine and leave without him.

The remaining crew now prepare to abandon the base "Deep Star", but the missile platform must first be secured. Without Laidlaw, facility technician Snyder is forced to interpret the unfamiliar protocol. When prompted by the computer to explain the reason, Snyder reports "aggression" (due to the creature). The computer jumps to the conclusion that an enemy military force is attacking and advises the humans to detonate the missile warheads. Snyder complies and the resulting nuclear explosion creates a shockwave that damages DeepStar Six and the cooling system for the base's nuclear reactor, which will go supercritical and explode in several hours. With failed life support, they begin repairs to restore power and pressure for the decompression procedure.

Engineer Jim Richardson ventures outside in a JIM suit to effect repairs, but the creature (a Depladon, some species of crustacean-like sea monster) comes after him, leading Scarpelli to conclude it is attracted to light. The crew retrieves his suit and hauls him through the airlock, but the Depladon forces its way inside and bisects him. The team retreats as the Depladon consumes the panic-stricken Scarpelli. Arming themselves with shotguns and harpoons with explosive cartridges, they venture back in to finish repairs. They succeed, but the Depladon attacks and Van Gelder dies when he accidentally backs into Snyder's harpoon. They escape to the med lab. Already badly stressed, Snyder quickly begins to unravel with guilt and fear. After a hallucination of Van Gelder, Snyder jumps into the escape pod and launches. However, since he has not undergone decompression, the pressure change from the ascent causes him to burst.

McBride swims through the flooded base to the minisub, to use it as their means of escape. While he is gone, the Depladon bursts into the med lab and Diane Norris attacks it with an overcharged defibrillator. Norris electrocutes herself and the Depladon as it attacks her, allowing Collins and McBride to escape, fleeing before the reactor goes critical and explodes DeepStar Six. The sub breaches the surface, where they deploy a raft, only for the Depladon to emerge. McBride discharges the minisub's fuel, then fires a flare, killing the Depladon as the sub explodes. McBride soon resurfaces and joins Collins, as they wait for a Navy rescue team to arrive.

Producer Cunningham developed the idea in 1987, with the express purpose of being the first release on the slate of upcoming underwater action/sci-fi films.[2] Originally, Robert Harmon was going to direct the film. However, when he left, Cunningham stepped in to direct the film with a budget of $8,000,000.[2]

The creature was initially designed by Chris Walas, who then turned his production designs over to FX head Mark Shostrom. Shostrom made slight alterations and changed the creature's color scheme.[2] The underwater scenes were shot in Malta, in The Rinella Tank at Fort Ricasoli.[citation needed]

The cast generally acquit themselves well, and comprise a combination of servicable unknowns and industry veterans. Miguel Ferrer is a stand-out, as is Hill Streets Blues alum Taurean Blacque. There is an unexpected nod to gender balance too, with Nia Peeples, Nancy Everhard, and Cindy Pickett all playing key leading roles.

It is all surprisingly restrained as well. In a film running 90-odd minutes, the monster does not actually reveal itself until the one-hour mark. Even then it is well-realised and shot in a manner that enhances its appearance rather than show off its shortcomings. While it is true that the film wobbles during a rushed climax, it still manages to wrap things up without ever seriously embarrassing itself.

With a film like this, expectations are key. Deepstar Six pretty much does what it sets out to do. There is tension and thrills, and a cast of panicky characters getting killed off one by one. There is nothing done here that is not done better in other films. B-cinema serves a purpose, however, and Deepstar Six serves it well. It is watchable. It is occasionally surprising. At its worst it can be laughed at. It is an important part of the entire 1989 Abyss phenomenon.

In 1989, Cosmatos was known in the industry for directing explosive action films like Rambo: First Blood Part II, Cobra, and later, Tombstone. He was an excellent choice to direct Leviathan because he understands how to execute action in a confined space and trusts his actors to balance action with characters built from the ground up. This gives Leviathan a slight edge over its closest competitor of 1989, DeepStar Six. Both feature similar plotlines of creatures picking off crew members one by one. In this film, you understand who these people were before their unfortunate demise.

As I mentioned quite some time ago, 2015 in fact, with my review of Deepstar Six (1989), there were several films that tried to capitalise on the theme of underwater action when they learned that James Cameron was in production on The Abyss (1989).

In total there were six films that jumped on the bandwagon and looking at the list, I recognise all the titles but apart from Deepstar Six (1989), only one other film stood out, Leviathan. As I explained in my Deepstar Six introduction, it was one of the films I would often see at the video rental store.

As Leviathan begins with its cast and crew credits, my expectations began to rise exponentially. The lead actor was Petter Weller. Ooh, Amanda Pays, I remember her from the Max Headroom (1985) film and television series. Add to that list Ernie Hudson, most famously the fourth Ghostbuster from Ghostbusters (1984) and its three sequels.

The production designer was Ron Cobb. You may not know the name, but he designed the DeLorean time machine for Back to the Future (1985) as well as the Colonial Marines hardware for Aliens (1986) and his work has appeared in so many more classic films.

Can this cast list get any better? It sure does. The creature effects were by Stan Winston and his workshop, the legendary talent behind The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), Jurassic Park (1993) and way too many films to list here.

Whilst initially celebrating their find, it all becomes a little premature. Inside the safe are the files on the crew, all marked as deceased. The final logs of the captain recorded on a VHS tape and a bottle of vodka along with a hip flask.

With Leviathan, the creature is always shown in part or quick cut aways throughout the entire film. I did start to wonder if this was the result of bad direction, editing, or perhaps in the end they were just embarrassed by what had been created for the film. The only way to get a proper look at the creature is via this entry on the Stan Winston website. This titbit of information taken from the site is rather telling,

In repulsion to seeing the fate of a couple of crew members, she runs to the shower, crying and strips to her underwear and proceeds to clean herself. A scene that I think was only included for obvious reasons! Also, does she really need to be in a one-piece swimsuit to use her diving suit?

The year was 1989 and we were flooded with a lot of underwater movies, all hoping to catch the summer box office prize, unfortunately, legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman was late to the party with his film Lords of the Deep so this entry never even made it out of the kiddie pool.

DeepStar Six IMDb rating of 5.3Directed BySean S. CunninghamProduced BySean S. Cunningham

Mario KassarWritten ByLewis AbernathyStarringGreg Evigan

Taurean Blacque

Miguel FerrerMusic ByHarry ManfrediniCinematographyMac AhlbergEditing ByJanuary 13, 1989Produced ByCarolco EntertainmentDistributed ByTriStar PicturesRuntime105 min.Country United StatesLanguageEnglish Images of DeepStar Six

DeepStar Six is an American 1989 science fiction horror film about the struggles of the crew of an underwater military outpost to defend their base against the attacks of a monster (possibly, a giant eurypterid).

The film's main principal starring lead actors and supporting players included Greg Evigan, Taurean Blacque, Nancy Everhard, Cindy Pickett, Miguel Ferrer and Matt McCoy. DeepStar Six is one of myriad underwater-themed movies released around 1989, including Leviathan, The Evil Below, Lords of the Deep, The Rift (Endless Descent) and The Abyss, the latter of which was the only successful entry among these aforementioned movies both at the box office and with film critics.

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