Dead Sea

Jays and Tessa (played by Isabel Gravitt and Genneya Walton) decide to go on an ocean trip from Florida to the Bahamas (and so, crossing into international waters and then an entirely different country) on a couple of jet skis with a couple of guys they barely know. That's not very smart - so, while of course you don't want to fall into a "blame the victim"" mentality, it's OK to think of the writers: "This is the best you could come up with?" Things don't go well, of course. The boys end up dead and the girls fall into the clutches of some very evil people after a horrific collision between the two jet skis.

There's lots of pointless filler in this - surprising since its run time is only 1:27, but true. But the basic problem here is that it's a "Suspense" movie that lacks much in the way of suspense. It's a time waster that feels like a waste of time. Gravitt and Walton are OK, but no better than that. The movie is dry; It fails to engage on any level.

It feels like a story that's been told a thousand times before, with each time just needing a bit of retweaking. It isn't awful. It just isn't necessary. (4/10)

Stumbling upon this 2024 thriller titled "Dead Sea" by random chance, and never having heard about it, I opted to give the movie a chance. I have to admit that the movie's synopsis actually sounded interesting enough.

However, having just sat through the entire 88 minutes that the movie ran for, I was left with an overwhelming sensation of 'was that really it?' when the movie came to an end. The movie starts out quite nicely, with writer and director Phil Volken pushing the movie's momentum forward pretty early on. But there was just something fundamentally important missing from the movie's narrative, and it sort of became bland and irrelevant towards the last quarter of the movie.

The movie has a very small cast ensemble, but leading actress Isabel Gravitt did carry the movie well enough with her performance. I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie. The acting performances by the cast were good.

There was a little bit of violence in the movie, but nothing noteworthy. "Dead Sea" was not a movie that relied heavily on special effects, and whatever effects were in the movie were actually fair.

"Dead Sea" is by no means a movie that I will return to watch a second time. Nor is it a movie that I will openly recommend people to rush out and get to watch.

My rating of writer and director Phil Volken's 2024 movie lands on a generous four out of ten stars.

It begins like half a dozen movies. Then it ends like half a million other movies. I will call it "Spitting on your Open Water Grave".

There are dumb kids doing irresponsible things that get them into trouble. Yeah, there is an early twist. Doesn't make the movie's new direction any better though. It just goes from one irritating sub-genre to another. Then it's mostly creepy and drawn-out.

The one okay thing about the whole affair is that Dean Cameron, who so eloquently played Chainsaw in the 80's classic Summer School, has found work - albeit in a role that they clearly offered to Kim Bodnia but had to settle on a lookalike for instead.

You are not missing much if you fast-forward through this or skip it altogether. The one boat's name was Haleh.

I understand the need for light and shade but the first 20 minutes of Dead Sea was so sickly sweet, I almost turned it off. However, stay on course and bloody action is lurking just around the corner.

When the first kill arrives, it hits you like a wet trout across the face and that's when things really change tack.

Although mostly set on a boat, there's some ingenious ways the action moves around, creating a somehow agoraphobic and claustrophobic setting all at once.

If you can suspend your disbelief, the premise and novel location make for a fun stalky slasher with some satisfying kills and suspenseful moments. Fans of nautical nightmare classics like Dead Calm (1989) and Triangle (2009) should jump on board Dead Sea.

Nick @WatchItWombat.

No pun intended - death is only the beginning could be a subtitle of the movie too by the way. But weird stuff aside, this starts off quite nicely ... and then sort of devolves and falls short later on. The lost at sea routine is one thing ... the cliches that come up when the inciting incident happens ... well I don't know what to say and call them, but they do not help or improve the movie.

I reckon this is not for sensitive people - then again the title might suggest that too. Acting is alright if you consider this being a low budget horror thriller - with some social commentary I guess ... but that is not the main point. It is about the female main characters and their ... struggle ... dare I say trying to swim out of a crazy situation ... is that a pun? Well it is for this movie.