DeepStar Six — DeepStar Six ( Blu Ray)
From the late 1980’s, DeepStar Six mixes an underwater disaster thriller with a snapping-teethed creature feature. It was directed by Sean S. Cunningham (Friday 13th), with the film shifting from a fairly drama/character heavy start to later some great moments of building tension/shock, panicking for time action, with a neat monster/dart of effective gore. Here from StudioCanal’s Cult Classics series is either a UHD or Blu-Ray release of the film. It takes in three commentary tracks, and a good selection of (largely) archive extras.
DeepStar Six was the 9th feature film from Cunningham- it appeared in the year 1989. The film runs at one hour and thirty-eight-minute mark, and most certainly, some cutting could have been done at the front half of the film, as well as tightening up later on.
DeepStar Six is an experimental underwater nuclear base- when we drop in on them, the crew are getting ready to go back up to the surface after six months underwater. But at the last minute, they discover another drilling spot, which, you guessed it, is hiding our pissed-off & snappy prehistoric creature.
As mentioned, the first half/ going on for three-quarters of the film, focuses on character introduction/ disagreement. Then, after the drilling spot is opened, we get some neat moments of tension & jarring shock…. but then more drama.
It really is a pity that drama seems to get in the way of both the film's pacing & general impact, as along its length we get some rewarding moments of trying to save folk, tense countdown action, and full-on monster action- with a neat body ripped in half kill, and an exploded heart death. The latter doesn’t really kick in until the film's last half an hour.
We get an ok selection of characters, though a few are a little too cliched. The most memorable being snappy & sarcastic engineer Snyder, played by Miguel Ferrer (Robocop). Bossy & belligerent Van Gelder (Marius Weyers).
The idea of blending disaster thriller and creature feature is a good one, and in places DeepStar Six is entertaining & engaging- it’s just a pity they could have dropped some of the drama ballast, as well as a bit of tightening up here & there.
The print on offer on the disc looks good, with really good clarity and depth to the picture. With an even balance between the dialogue and music.
On the extras side- the only really newish thing here is a commentary track from Horror-Fix.com's James G. Chandler and Ash Hamilton- this is well researched and at points quite amusing. They begin by pointing out the old Tri Star horse logo, and how it was one of the better studio logos. They comment on the dropping-down credits & briefly discuss Harry Manfredini's score, declaring it’s one of his more layered works. They point out actors as they appear, touching on other notable roles- many of them came from a TV background. They talk about how it seems like there were no bras underwater & lots of white T-shirts. We find out that in 1989 there were five other submarine-based films released. The film cost eight million to make and just took over that at the box office- so not a great success. They talk about how all the characters are fairly pleasant, with none of them being deliberately malicious. Later on, they touch on the hard science behind the picture, the character interaction, and more.
Otherwise, we get the following archive extras: Two more commentary tracks- one with director Sean S. Cunningham and visual effects supervisor James Isaacs. And one with screenwriters Lewis Abernathy and Geoff Mille. Isolated score with audio commentary by composer Harry Manfredini. From The Deep (21.39) interviews with Mark Shostrom, Greg Nicotero, and Robert Kurtzma. The Survivors (16.42) interviews with Greg Evigan and Nancy Everhard. Water Damage (12.41) interview with Kane Hodder. Behind The Scenes (4.49) vintage featurette. Extended vintage interviews with cast & crew (3.36). Original 1989 EPK. Stills gallery, Theatrical trailer, and TV spot
The mixing of disaster thriller and creature feature is certainly sound, and in places DeepStar Six is entertaining & engaging…it’s just a pity the drama elements take too big a chunk out of the proceedings. This new reissue looks great- with a good selection of extras.