"A deadly monster stalks an adventurer, a thief, a builder and others out to sea." Deep Rising has been on our DVR (that's Digital Video Recorder, for those of you who aren't savvy to that kind of thing) for at least three months because we could never muster enough time to sit through what we assumed to be an excruciatingly mediocre horror movie. When we finally ran out of ideas and Wal-Mart and Blockbuster had nothing to offer, the gloves came off and we went for it.


The poster is misleading. It actually leads you to think the movie will be worse than it is. Those of you who have sat through the likes of , CrossBones, , and know what it's like to have your high hopes dashed upon the rocks of . I feared we were doomed to the same fate with Deep Rising, but I think we were all pleasantly surprised at how much it DIDN'T .

directed this 1998 thrillactionorromedy with ease...the storyline was obviously nothing he had to struggle with too much - it's not like he was shooting for an Oscar on this one. He also directed 1999's , which I liked a lot.

The movie stars a bevy of C-list celebrities which I'll take the liberty of introducing to you - one of the reasons the film was so much fun was recognizing these people and saying "what is that guy from again?" Leading the pack as the "adventurer" was Treat Williams, who starred in the Substitute sequels (but not the original). His best friend/first mate, played by Kevin J. O'Connor, was the weasel-like Benny in The Mummy. The "builder" was , who starred in Boston Public and Silence of the Lambs. Famke Janssen (Jean Grey from the X-Men movies) tags along as the "thief" with a heart of gold. Cliff Curtis, a lesser known , played a mercenary in the movie and is known for his work in Collateral Damage and Runaway Jury. Jason Flemyng (pictured at right) is one of the most obscure actors in this movie, but is still recognizable to the select few who have seen him in Transporter 2, Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Also along for the party is the effervescent , famous for his roles in Gladiator, The Island, and Amistad. Whew...that was ridiculous. Watching this was a trip - every time a different actor/actress appeared on screen, you knew you'd seen them somewhere before.

OK, ya got me: The actual movie itself wasn't . But it was way more entertaining than I gave it credit for. I'm fully aware that this doesn't make it a good film (or even worth your time to see it), but this movie was so much fun that I had to tell you guys about it. I really don't want to give too much away, but suffice it to say that the monster is pretty fantastic and for the first two-thirds of the movie you (the audience) have no clue as to the size or girth of the creature that is attacking the ship and its passengers. The logic can be easily called into question (a gun that holds "a thousand rounds?" Are you serious?), and Mikey predicted the climax to EXACT specifications, but that didn't change the fact when the movie reached its ending, all three of us were excited about the possibility of a sequel.

I'm pretty distraught that I can't track down a video to post of an explosion from Deep Rising, which broke into my Top 5 90's Movie Explosions with some gusto. I guess you'll just have to rent it and see the glory for yourself. Until next time...