Dead Sea

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.

One of those films that starts off looking a bit like some cheesy coastal teenage love story, but seems that the movie crew really got into this story as the movie goes on and the tension builds. I love coming across a movie that looks like nothing but ends up with me cheering at the TV 😁

The first 20 minutes or so, although seeming a little tacky, was obviously done on purpose to intensify the story beyond. After a (maybe little far fetched) accident at sea, the tension really builds and continues to do so.

There are quite a few points where I just thought, "no way, that's..." and then I'm sucked back in, it's a real grower, worth a watch 🙌

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.

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.