After the death of their son, John and Rae Ingram embark
upon a cruise on their boat to try to cope with the grief. Weeks out to sea
they do to the right thing and rescue a half-delirious man, Hughie Warriner,
fleeing from a sinking ship. From the first meeting something doesn’t sit right
with John about Hughie’s story of what happened so he sets out for the ship
while Hughie’s asleep. Once on board, John realises that Hughie’s not a
shipwreck survivor, he’s a psychotic murderer… and Rae’s alone on the boat with
him!
Intense. That’s the only word that can describe this movie, INTENSE!!! Everything, absolutely everything from the compelling
performances to the bone-chillingly terrifying soundtrack is screaming with
white-hot intensity. I seriously won’t be surprised if the innards of my DVD
have all been burnt out because of this film’s thrilling craziness!
After the
death of their son, John and Rae Ingram embark upon a cruise on their boat to
try to cope with the grief. Weeks out to sea they do to the right thing and
rescue a half-delirious man, Hughie Warriner, fleeing from a sinking ship. From
the first meeting something doesn’t sit right with John about Hughie’s story of
what happened so he sets out for the ship while Hughie’s asleep. Once on board,
John realises that Hughie’s not a shipwreck survivor, he’s a psychotic
murderer… and Rae’s alone on the boat with him!
This was Phillip Noyce’s real
hit, I’m sure some will argue his tour de force. With a minimal cast and
essentially one setting, there is nowhere to hide with this movie in terms of
technique and talent. Terry Hayes’ screenplay is a wonder: wholly compelling
and thrilling right to the end. This is a film where the story speaks for
itself and it falls to the direction and the performances to really push it to
where it can sit in the sky and Noyce, Hayes, everyone involved really did
this!
Sam Neil and Nicole Kidman as the two romantic leads work very well
together, with a comfort in each other’s company that really makes them feel
like husband and wife.
But the real star of the show is Billy Zane as Hughie
Warriner. Easily his tour de force, Billy delivers an enchanting and thrilling
performance. He really is like a vampire or Venus flytrap: drawing you closer
and closer before finally having his way with you. You’re bewitched by his
sensitive eyes and insanely gorgeous smile, which makes him all the more
dangerous because, although you can sort of read what he’s thinking, his train
of thought could change in a split second and he’s only ever a hairline away
from stroking your face endearingly or violently throttling you. Be afraid, be
very afraid.
Running a close second to Zane is the insanely intense original
soundtrack by Graeme Revell. A percussive score with human gasping rhythmically
blended through it accompanies the film’s most intense scenes and seriously it
makes the heart pump so fast and takes all breath clean away! Amazing!
Starring
Rod Mulliner, Joshua Tilden, George Shevstov, Michael Long, and Benji the dog, Dead Calm is a remarkable thriller that
will definitely have me thinking twice about boating. Filled with action,
violence, drama, and suspense I thought it was absolutely incredible. Really
well done and hugely INTENSE!
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