'' is a
1998 motion picture written and directed by
Stephen Sommers .
The movie describes the maiden voyage of a new
Cruise Liner , the world's most expensive and luxurious. Early on the ship is apparently boarded by a mysterious and unseen attacker or attackers. We then switch to a small ship owned and piloted by John Finnegan (
Treat Williams ) and his two associates Joey 'Tooch' Pantucci (
Kevin J. O'Connor ) and Leila (Una Damon). Finnegan has been chartered by a group of mercenaries to take them to an unspecified rendezvous in the ocean, which turns out to be the liner. The mercenaries plan to rob the ship and its wealthy customers, then sink the ship and split the insurance with the ships owner. They are armed with a Chinese gun that is a combination of a gatling gun and an AK 47 that never seems to run out of ammo.
On arrival, it is discovered that the entire crew and all passengers are missing. The mercenaries investigate the ship, discovering survivors including Trillian (
Famke Janssen ), a thief who was imprisoned prior to the attack, and Simon Canton (
Anthony Heald ), the owner of the ship. They reveal that the ship is infested with gigantic worm-like creatures which have devoured the crew. The remainder of the movie is largely taken up with the survivor's attempts to avoid the creatures - which are later found to be appendages of a single gigantic creature - and escape the ship, only to end up on an island inhabited by another creature - whether of the same type or some new beast is unspecified. "Now What?" Finnegan says when he hears the distant roars.
''Deep Rising'' is notable for its blend of very gory horror - including scenes of still-living half-digested victims of the creature - special effects and comedy, most provided by the Joey Pantucci character. In one typical scene many of the characters are riding an elevator which the creature attacks, resulting in various crashing noises outside. As the terrified occupants stare at the crumpled walls and ask what the noise is, Joey comments that it's
The Girl From Ipanema , in reference to the
Elevator Music which has been playing in the background throughout. This scene has been imitated in several other movies.
- Trillian St. James was originally to be played by Claire Forlani . She departed the project after three days of filming due to creative differences with Stephen Sommers.
- The Trillian character is named for the '' Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy '' character Tricia McMillan, who was nicknamed Trillian.
- The pulse rifles used by the mercenaries are modified Calico M960 sub-machine guns.
- ''Deep Rising'' made Roger Ebert 's most hated films list. In his own words, ''Deep Rising'' is "essentially an '' Alien '' clone with a fresh paint job...."
