DeepStar Six
The storms of the weather and the turbulence of politics far above, on the ocean floor life at first glance life is serene for the crew of DeepStar Six, a joint military and scientific taskforce, exploring the environment but also involved in the emplacement of a missile facility, a four- month tour of duty of isolation and psychological pressure now overstretched by another two, patience thinning and personalities clashing as a hard deadline approaches.
Recognising that without military funding the project will close completely, Captain Laidlaw sides with zealous Doctor Van Gelder over the valid objections of marine biologist Doctor Scarpelli, concerned that detonating explosives on the sea bed to collapse a cave won’t guarantee the required stable foundation for the battery but will destroy the environment, an understatement of the predicament created as the opening chasm threatens to swallow the crew of the Seacat vehicle and releases an imprisoned creature.
The release of James Cameron’s high ambition, big budget, deep sea adventure The Abyss slated for late summer 1989, a slew of similar low budget films launched into production, the first to be released DeepStar Six, beating its inspiration to the ocean floor by seven months but derided at the time, thrown together by Friday the 13th director Sean S Cunningham with an eye on expedience rather than quality, underwater adventure a particularly hard genre to master even for an expert, Cameron’s more challenging production beset with delays.
The sheer volume of exterior effects shots stretching the modest resources, the modelwork is acceptable but unexceptional, floating above Warriors of the Deep but less elegant than 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea released three decades before, though the sets of the base are more impressive but designed without functionality or safety in mind, airlocks which have no failsafe to prevent both doors opening simultaneously and a nuclear device which can be exploded without authorisation codes or surly mechanic Snyder (Miguel Ferrer) pausing to consider whether or not it is prudent to press the button while still within blast radius.
Taurean Blacque’s trapped Laidlaw similarly pressing the “flood” button, standard in all aquatic installations, sacrificing himself while forcing those trying to save him to flee yet placing them in even more danger as icy water rises and the unbalanced craft slides further down the pit, in his wake the film is led by Nancy Everhard as first officer Collins and Greg Evigan as submarine pilot McBride, able to hold his breath for several minutes and survive while free diving where Matt McCoy’s supposedly charming but actually really creepy co-pilot needs a rigid suit, any understanding of pressure or decompression dangers beyond the writers’ comprehension.
DeepStar Six a film at times marvellously bad in its active stupidity, restored by StudioCanal for their Cult Classics collection the new edition is loaded with ballast, four commentaries with participants ranging from Cunningham and effects supervisor James Isaacs to screenwriters Lewis Abernathy and Geoff Miller and composer Harry Manfredini, interviews with “survivors” Evigan and Everhard, stunt coordinator Kane Hodder and others alongside archive footage and features and a gallery and trailers.
DeepStar Six is available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray from StudioCanal now
