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I'm a sucker for "hostile environment horror" (which includes horror movies set in space, such as the Alien series and Event Horizon, as well as horror movies set under the ocean, like the recent Underwater).

Is James Cameron's The Abyss worth watching? (Strangely, I'm having a hard time tracking down a copy of it, even a digital one.)

Depends what you want from it. I don't remember any of the plot or characters, but I remember the hell out of the sci fi elements.

Honestly, the book (which is actually based on the screen play, not the reverse) is better, but the movie is quite good. Well worth watching, in my opinion. The "newer" version also has the ending that was cut from the theatrical version (because the special effects would have cost too much).

That being said, I really don't recall if the elements you are specifically calling out are all that prominent, but they definitely are a factor in the plot and a factor in many of the elements at play. I'd guess you like it, but that would definitely just be a guess from what I can recall.

There are substantially worse things you could do with your time.

OH, horror? The Abyss isn't a horror movie. Leviathan and Deep Star Six are underwater horror films.

It's a good movie, but it's less 'hostile environment horror' and more 'psychological thriller'... the hostile environment is just the setup.

 insaniak wrote:
It's a good movie, but it's less 'hostile environment horror' and more 'psychological thriller'... the hostile environment is just the setup.

Yeah, I think this is what I was trying to say, but I used a lot more words and was a lot less clear,

Yeah, the Abyss is just a sci-fi movie, not a horror movie like the other underwater films as discussed above. But it's an excellent movie.

I re-watched this fairly recently, and have seen it several times.

Some of the dialogue was a lot clunkier than I remember, and the effects don't really hold up, which you would expect since it's so old by now.

Some scenes are still deeply awesome, though.

I would recommend it, but I have a specific thing where I watch every single underwater movie ever, and I also like sort of bad movies, and I also like James Cameron's directing, so I'm pretty biased. My wife though it was OK at best.


If you liked Underwater, you will probably like this, this is unquestionably better.

While I think the latter part of the film makes it less interesting overall, the Abyss is worth watching if only because it comes from the end of the "practical effects" era in film. It has a decidedly ALIEN/ALIENS feel with regard to convincing characters and a proper grimey/realistic set and props/etc.

It's easily an 8/10 movie, but is more of a psychological action thriller than any kind of horror. The added CGI is early and relatively poor, but the atmosphere alone is worth it.

 H wrote:

 insaniak wrote:
It's a good movie, but it's less 'hostile environment horror' and more 'psychological thriller'... the hostile environment is just the setup.

Yeah, I think this is what I was trying to say, but I used a lot more words and was a lot less clear,

Although I have to confess, I had a brainfart and was actually thinking of Sphere, rather than The Abyss. I think the initial reference to 'horror' threw me, as Sphere is certainly closer to horror than The Abyss is, although it's still not.

The Abyss is definitely the better movie of the two, though

Yeah, Sphere is one of the many...terrible adaptations of Michael Crichton's books. The book itself is superb, and a great read. The film...garbage. Same can be said of Congo, Timeline, Jurassic Park (particularly the sequels, but even the first first novel was far cooler than the rather good film), Disclosure, and most versions of Andromeda Strain, etc.

I love the Abyss, and actually did a report on it once, including some incredibly odd and interesting stuff that happened on set, like a herd of wild goats chewing up their stuff, or the leading lady literally storming off set because Cameron demanded take after take of a scene where she gets repeatedly slapped (for real hand of face contact). Also they filmed the underwater scenes in an abandoned nuclear reactor.


If you watch the theatrical version, I'd give it about a 7/10. Look for the Extended edition though, that cranks it up to a solid 8.5/10. The studio made them cut the movie down because they thought it was too long and wanted more showings per day in the theaters. You have to remember that movies back in that time were not as long as today, so a 2-hour theatrical version was all ready long.

Yeah, the making of that movie was apparently pretty wild \ arduous. Ed Harris refuses to talk about it to this day (he apparently almost drowned, James Cameron kept rolling, and Ed Harris punched him when he found out), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio had a breakdown on the set, and so on.

It took so much time to get them into and out of those diving suits that they literally just sat at the bottom of the tank for hours on end waiting for the director to say "Action!" Everyone pissed in their suits, and you could tell who was doing it while they were peeing.

This sums up quite a bit of it (also an excellent series for anyone into movies)

This is about the making of the film, though it may spoil some of it for people who haven't seen the film - so...SPOILERS.

Just watch the extended directors cut so the movie makes more sense. the studios made him cut like 30 minutes because they thought it was to long.

I love most of Cameron's early work, but the gold standard for me will always be aliens (directors cut)

Yeah, it's worth pointing out this was back when James Cameron was relevant. Before the garbage that was Titanic/Avatar, etc. He was actually a solid film make back in the Abyss/ALIENS days.

Love the movie, if is definitely one of the better ones out there

just be sure to watch the directors cut /extended version and not the original theatrical version

Excellent movie and stands tall alongside Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park as key inspirations that brought audiences into the forthing digital filmmaking era. Being the first of that trio, you really cannot miss out on this film.

In a nutshell The Abyss is a wonderful mix of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, ET and The Day The Earth Stood Still.

Titanic is a labour of love, and should be taken for what it is; not the next chapter in the Skynet saga!

Absolutely detested Avatar back in 2009 as the characters felt like Punch'n'Judy puppets( "WHERE'S MY DAMN COFFEE?" ), but the extended version gave a bit more to the characters, such as Jake's bar fight and Weaver's character(can't remember her name) showing Jake the abandoned huts with which she had worked with the locals. The mercenaries in the theatrical edition felt like villians from an A-Team episode, but the extended cut showed them in a frustrated position where the local attacks were taking their toll on them, and for them it was kinda like a gang war, becoming personal. Where ALIENS and T2 never needed special editions, Avatar most certainly did!

Speaking of which, what is going on with the Avatar sequels? Last I heard they were pumping us up for Avatar 5 when we still haven't seen Avatar 2! We didn't even wait this long for T2...

The Abyss is a great movie. Well worth watching. The cgi and stuff does not hold up at all but thats a produxt of the time it was made. Good characters. Great story. Interesting elements.

Sigh.

Another classic which, somehow, I’ve never actually sat down and watched.

I mean, I’ve seen bits of it (pink goo springs to mind? And I’m 90% sure I didn’t hallucinate an underwater GB2)

First Candyman, now The Abyss.

Alright, out with it - who's yet to see Star Wars?

I loved the Abyss, right up to about 10 minutes to go in the movie, then it went all "WTF". I mean, I get what they were trying to do, but it went against all the build up and tension that had been there.

Same thing with Event Horizon. After reading the book (which was way better, and actually made logical sense), the movie went all Hollywood at the end and ruined the atmosphere.

So, yes, I think its well worth a watch, but the last 10 mins of the theatrical version can be skipped.

I didn't know there was a director's cut, might be worth checking out if they fixed the end.

 Cruentus wrote:
I loved the Abyss, right up to about 10 minutes to go in the movie, then it went all "WTF". I mean, I get what they were trying to do, but it went against all the build up and tension that had been there.

Same thing with Event Horizon. After reading the book (which was way better, and actually made logical sense), the movie went all Hollywood at the end and ruined the atmosphere.

So, yes, I think its well worth a watch, but the last 10 mins of the theatrical version can be skipped.

I didn't know there was a director's cut, might be worth checking out if they fixed the end.

Significantly, significantly better. The Theatrical cut was on STARS about a month ago and I caught the end, it is missing SO much. Seriously, it feels like a bad TV edit they had to do to make it fit in a time slot. You get to have a look into the Aliens' intentions and motives, a deeper reconciliation between the main character and his wife, expressed cross-species gratitude, and a better look at US-Russian relations.

In some ways yes. It was a breakthru movie in some SFX terms. It had some decent acting. The aliens were beautiful.

One thing about it bugged me. The angelic aliens caused the loss of the submarine and the death of all aboard her. Yet they presumed to judge humanity in the full version with the waves of mass destruction? The aliens were never called to account for killing the crew of the sub, even if unintentionally.

^ Asking the important questions.

So, -Guardsman-, did you finally see it?