Dead Calm (1989)
psychological thriller
direced
by : Phillips Noyce
featuring
: Sam Neill - Nicole Kidman - Billy Zane - Wallis Nicita - Joshua Tilden
running
time : 1 hour 37 minutes
Grieving over the death of their son, a
married couple decide to take a long yachting trip for relaxation's sake.
Their journey takes a dark turn, however, when they rescue a young man
from a drifting vessel. The couple soon discover that the other ship's
crew had been brutally murdered by their new passenger, and find themselves
in a battle of wits against this violent sociopath. Interestingly, a previous
attempt had been made at adapting the novel that inspired this film by
none other than Orson Welles; footage from his unfinished version, known
as The Deep, can be seen in the documentary Orsen Welles: The One Man Band.
Though it's no Knife In The Water,
director Phillip Noyce's tense, visceral '80s thriller injects a much-needed
claustrophobic jolt into the standard yuppies-in-danger plotline that seemed
to be in such abundance in the late '80s and early '90s. The pulpy influence
of director George Miller can be felt in every frame of Dead Calm, from
the just-over-the-top performances (Nicole Kidman), to the copious bloodletting
and sordid twists in the film's third act. Dead Calm isn't above pulling
the rug out from under its audience, and it succumbs to the lame passage
of dialogue here and there, but it's at least precise, economical, and
taut -- certainly more so than the routine Hollywood product Noyce would
churn out for the next decade or so.