Synopsis
A rift has opened in the ocean floor beneath the Acrtic ice cap, melting the ice andthreatening to flood much of the world. (Never mind that this wouldn’t happen: this is a moviewhere we see ice sink, just like in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.) The solution,ordered by some sort of world government cabal of the G8 at the “United Nations CommandCenter” (riiiiight) is to nuke the rift. Somehow, this will make everything all better. It turns out,however, that the rift …as been created by giant intelligent electric eels from outer space (I kidyou not). In the undersea lab Hubris (okaaay) are tough soldier David Keith, ex-wife scientistSimmone Jade MacKinnon, and professional SOB Mark Sheppard. The SOB wants to nukeeverything, but MacKinnon works on establishing e-mail contact with the eels before everythinggets blown to hell.
I swear I’m not making any of this plot up, and, gentle reader, once you stop laughing you ‘llrealize the movie is an almost note-for-note bargain-basement remake of The Abyss(right down to encounter between the lone female and the alien intelligence). The film is riddledwith flaws, from its brain-dead script, goofy-looking monsters, over-reliance on computerscreens, and (as pointed out in Fangoria) creative spelling. That said, it clips along at agood pace, and throws in an ambitious number of special effects. Only the most confirmedmonster lover need watch, but the spirit of the 50s B monster flicks lives on in DTV fodder suchas this.
Audio
Extremely enthusiastic surround on this 2.0 track. Too enthusiastic: the rear speakers drownout the front at times. Still, not a single opportunity to dish out surround effects is passed up. Thedialogue does have a bit of buzz to it, and once in a while slips into surround mode itself, whichis never a good thing.
Video
Yet another fullscreen transfer: i.e. another typical straight-to-video release. The colours aregood, but the picture overall is disappointing. There is a fair bit of grain, and a surprising degreeof speckling for such a recent film (said speckling is particularly noticeable in the otherwise solidblacks). The image is also a bit on the soft side.
Special Features
The main screen of the menu is scored, and the trailer is the only extra.
Closing Thoughts
Dumb as a sack of hammers, but stuff happens, and happens frequently, and the stupiditiesthemselves are rather entertaining.
Special Features List
- Trailer
