Dead in the Water

While this film wasn't a bad little time waster..it was lacking the buoyancy to keep it afloat...I wanted to like it more as it started to show strength by the 2nd act...but couldn't hold it above water.. It was good to see an all female cast. Decent acting for the most part considering the C list factor.

But in reality when you try to storyboard a mixture of Alien..The Thing..into an X-File-ish type of made for TV movie on a boat at sea the results will be as murky as the waters you're trying to navigate.

As our 5 female protagonists are out to sea attempting to capture illegal fishing operators they come across a man in a life raft from somewhere and assumed to be dead. They bring him aboard only to realize he isn't.

After a confrontation he is killed and they realize he has been bitten or sucked on by something. An autopsy reveals a living entity inside him which has now escaped and looking for hosts. Well...look no further!!.

At this point you could insert any one of the xenomorph scenes from Alien or the Thing into the remainder of the film..with the same results. Call it a "professional pilfering" The flow of the film was good..film stock adequate. It had good moments of suspense and the CGI was used sparingly to good effect and complemented the makeup when required.

As predictable as it is Dead in the Water is still a decent watch at a 5 fishes out of 10..but you're in this liferaft alone...

An icebreaker vessel in the far Pacific with an all-female crew rescue a stranger from the ocean and are then forced to fight for their lives against an unknown enemy while a massive storm looms.

"Dead in the Water" (2018) is a TV thriller/horror that combines "Dead Calm" (1989) with "Alien/Aliens" (1979/1986) and maybe a little bit o' "Ghost Ship" (2002). While it's not as good as any of those flicks, it's not bad. The movie was shot on an actual vessel, a small one, but the surrounding sea is cartoonish CGI and it's too obvious.

If you can get past that, the actresses are all convincing and the script builds some suspense as the truth about what's really going on is slowly unveiled. I liked the tie-in to the Marianas Trench, the deepest natural point in the world located in the Western Pacific, and the F/X concerning the corresponding component (I'm trying to be vague) are quite good, unlike the fake-looking waters around the ship.

To be expected in a situation like this, none of the women are made out to be alluring sirens. It's a research vessel amidst a storm and they're all appareled with work clothes. Nevertheless, they're a diverse group with most of them being appealing, one way or another. My favorite is Sparks (Christia Visser).

The movie runs 1 hour, 30 minutes. REST OF CAST: Nikohl Boosheri (Dana), Nicole Fortuin (Kat), Bianca Simone Mannie (Gwen), Skye Russell (Rusty), Tanya van Graan (Erika), Amy Louise Wilson (Michelle) and Brandon Auret (Stranger).

GRADE: C+/B-

Bunch of girls on a ship chasing naughty illegal Chinese fishermen get themselves into a tizzy when the engine claps out.

With no men on board to help they are left to scream and panic. Part Alien part Descent part lots of things.

Not very good. Acting just about passable. Story pretty pathetic. They should have known to take a man along. Bruce Willis would have solved their problems in the first act with his brute strength and intelligence but sadly he was not on board.

Had a couple of good ideas but in the end was not really much of anything. Passable if you are bored on a wet Sunday afternoon.

I don't know if there are crews made up of only women, but certainly this is the most original element of the film: moreover the girls are cute and nice.

That this atmosphere is destroyed by a male body could perhaps be a feminist suggestion, almost like saying "we were better off alone".

And the nocturnal atmosphere is well rendered.

But in the initial part there is a heavy ellipse (not seen when the three girls return to the ship and carry the body) and the special effects are sometimes repulsive.

Furthermore, the director interrupts too often with shots of the boat in the storm.

There are great creature/alien movies: Everything from Alien to The Thing. And then there's this. But, I like Sci-Fi's movies...they are just the thing when I just want to veg or otherwise occupy my time while doing other things, with something on in the background. Nothing new here except an all-female crew. Basically clueless crew gets into trouble of their own making, an alien/creature attacks, the make bad decisions and turn on each other. Regular cast of characters playing the roles we know so well, weakling, survivalist, martyr. Completely formulaic. On the plus side, there was very minimal CGI; most of it was 'live action'.