Abîmes

Variation parfois captivante et parfois malencontreusement ridicule de "Event Horizon", qui se veut une dramatique sérieuse sur la culpabilité, la responsabilité et le remords. Pire que l'horreur de science-fiction "Pitch Black", mais meilleur que "Ghost Ship". (30/05/2003)

I almost always find movies or books set in submarines scary, and there doesn’t even need to be anything scary in them. But I was curious to see what would happen when the claustrophobic environment of a metal coffin lying on the bottom of the sea would be combined with supernatural phenomena. It didn't turn out badly at all. This is a classic ghost story, whose main plot and point is guessed within the first twenty minutes (could it be that Darren Aronofsky contributed to the script with this very work?), but the post-war scenery gives it a nice touch of originality. The depth is evidenced by the not-so-familiar but well-acting cast, Twohy's skillful direction complemented by Revell's dynamic score, and a script filled with a number of memorable moments - the record-player (Benny Goodman's “Sing, Sing, Sing" in a horror film? Why not!), the depth charge rolling around the submarine (a very suspenseful scene), the hooks, the divers and the stingrays and the ship repair, the hot door and what comes next... The only detriment is the overlong runtime, which makes these (and other good) scenes a bit boring now and then. (21/01/2012)

The "submarine subgenre" is not exactly a goldmine for plot themes, which is why the mixing-in of ghost plots is relatively innovative and interesting. Unfortunately, the result is more than an embarrassing mess that the director of Pitch Black and the screenwriter of Requiem for a Dream can’t be proud of. The plot, which is incredibly shallow and highly predictable, starts to get lost after a few minutes in the director's insistent attempt to shake a darkness out of every shot. The result is too much of an effort to have boogeymen under the bed, which is most evidenced by the exaggerated failure rate of the light bulbs on the vessel. It’s all killed by the breakneck ending, whose attempt to shock comes out very much as a self parody. The acting is relatively decent. Bruce Greenwood, in particular, is supremely charismatic, and Graeme Revell's soundtrack tries (unfortunately in vain) to add a bit of tension where the director forgets to. However, the incredibly cheap special effects under the sea, a lot of bullshit chatter about nothing, and the overall impression of a more expensive TV movie force me to give it a poor review. Inexcusable even by "stupid B-movie" standards. (18/06/2006)

God, a theme like that and so walled-in... what to do?! Sunken! The atmosphere of the film could be from the realm of delicacies – the confined spaces of a submarine, tens of meters of water tombstone above its head, and the steel body of the vessel is haunted... Unfortunately, Twohy's submarine amounts to backdrop cardboard without a touch of the realistic claustrophobic atmosphere that can be scarier in and of itself than all six senses of the right spiritualist. It wouldn't be worth talking about acting in such a B-movie if Twohy hadn't been trying to do some douche-like psychology, which, combined with the awkward performances of the main actors, seems ridiculous. The effects are typical B-movie fare, but they tend to improve the impression. Similar to several impressive spots (e.g., the repair of the ship's inner shell) and the sound effects. If this film had a more skillful director and the script reconciled with its own mediocrity, it could have been at least at the level of Pitch Black. Overall, barely below average. (11/07/2005)

Das Bu-Bu Boot. The self-playing Benny Goodman, English-speaking German corpses, depth charges dancing across the deck like Fred Astaire, flickering light bulbs, and mantas going boo—all are just side effects of someone guilty of all crimes, piling one misdeed on top of another. Twohy tries his hand with a story à la Amazing Stories, claustrophobia, and dramatic Revelle, and certainly not badly in the first half, but with the thinness of the supernatural mystery wrapped around characters who either babble anachronistically or just babble, it’s a tough battle. Otherwise, it was amusing that on the submarine they discuss a woman as a symbol of bad luck, while they have Alan from The Hangover on board. I assume that during the christening of the vessel, the champagne bottle bounced off the hull and broke over someone's head. (27/10/2022)