Can any other animal rival the cinematic appeal of sharks? While there are movies featuring wolves, whales, crocodiles, snakes, lions, tigers, and bears, none of these predators possess the same versatility as sharks. These deep-sea hunters can serve as the central threat in any narrative, but it is the absurd examples that truly stand out. Look no further than the film Deep Blue Sea, which showcases intelligent sharks but suffers from poor writing.
Samuel L. Jackson is a highly prolific actor in Hollywood, for better or worse. His willingness to accept almost any project leads him to both fantastic and terrible films. The fact that his fans never have to wait more than a month to see him on screen allows his missteps to be easily overlooked. Jackson shares this forgiving quality with sharks. As long as they occasionally appear in good movies, all is forgiven.
What is Deep Blue Sea about?
Deep Blue Sea is set in an underwater research facility where a team of scientists is on the brink of finding a cure for Alzheimer's. Their project entails intricate genetic modifications conducted on mako sharks. Heading the initiative are Dr. Susan McCallister and Dr. Jim Whitlock. Assisting the scientists are shark wrangler Carter Blake, marine biologist Janice Higgins, and engineer Tom Scoggins. However, when one of Susan and Jim's sharks escapes and poses a deadly threat to a group of vacationers, their financial backers become suspicious. In an effort to assess the facility, the company sends executive Russell Franklin.
In a tragic turn of events, Jim loses his arm to one of the sharks. While a medical evacuation team arrives to transport Jim to safety, a malfunction causes him to be flung into the shark tank. With a powerful tug, the shark drags the helicopter down, resulting in a catastrophic crash and a series of destructive explosions. Jim loses his life, and the crew is now faced with the daunting challenge of escaping a sinking structure overrun by formidable sharks. As they strive to reach a submersible and make their way to the surface, Susan confesses that their research has gone awry. Against regulations, she and Jim were enhancing the genetic makeup of their subjects, leading to larger, more intelligent, and more aggressive sharks. With the assistance of Preacher, the facility's chef, Susan, Carter, Janice, Tom, and Franklin must outsmart these highly evolved apex predators and find a means of reaching safety.
Where does Deep Blue Sea fit into the shark movie genre?
Screenwriter Duncan Kennedy, who had limited experience, initially conceived Deep Blue Sea. The spec script emerged from a recurring nightmare about sharks capable of reading minds. Warner Bros. acquired the project, appointing director Renny Harlin. Several unnamed writers attempted to tackle the story before Donna and Wayne Powers took on the final draft. The script underwent numerous transformations during the process. Kennedy's objective was to create a fresh kind of shark horror movie in a genre saturated by Jaws imitations for years. Harlin, envisioning Deep Blue Sea as a return to serious, high-quality horror in the vein of Alien or The Shining, considered it a failure, while Kennedy's original contribution to the final product was minimal.
Shark movies have always varied greatly in tone and presentation. Prior to Jaws, they tended to fall into the category of exploitative horror films. During that time, it was customary to witness women in bathing suits being terrorized by irrelevant footage of deep-sea predators. Samuel Fuller's Shark, released six years before Jaws, even resulted in the death of a stuntman during filming. The film's poster includes a photograph of the actual incident. After Jaws, filmmakers attempted to capitalize on the concept by creating movies like Orca, substituting a different animal. Nevertheless, Deep Blue Sea could be argued as the catalyst for the rise of absurd shark movies. This was precisely the type of tongue-in-cheek horror that Harlin aimed to challenge, and Deep Blue Sea only emboldened its proliferation. The Meg, Sharknado, and every other original film from the Sci-Fi channel owe a debt of gratitude to Deep Blue Sea. Kennedy even returned to the ocean with an additional writing credit on the 2014 film Bait.
How does Deep Blue Sea end?
In the film Deep Blue Sea, one of the most amusing moments occurs when Franklin Russell gives an inspiring speech about survival, only to be unexpectedly devoured. Tom and Janice are attacked and killed by sharks, while Susan manages to electrocute one of the sharks, resulting in the destruction of her own research. Carter realizes that the sharks are purposefully flooding the facility in order to escape into the sea. Despite swimming to the surface, Susan sacrifices herself to distract the last remaining shark. Preacher shoots the shark with a harpoon and electrocutes it, ultimately killing it. Carter and Preacher are the only survivors left, watching as a boat approaches.
Deep Blue Sea is an entertaining action horror movie that holds significance within the shark movie genre. Fans of films like Bait, Sharknado, and The Meg will thoroughly enjoy Deep Blue Sea. This film guarantees intelligent sharks and delivers a delightfully silly and absurd storyline.