A U.S. Navy nuclear sub, following an unusual sonar echo deep in the Atlantic, suffers an unexplained power loss that leaves it powerless to avoid a collision with the wall of a sub-oceanic trench. The sub plummets into depths it was never meant to descend, takes on water, and the crew is killed. The Navy commandeers a deep-ocean oil exploration rig operated by Benthic Oil, trying to beat a hurricane to the coordinates of the downed sub. Ed “Bud” Brigman, in charge of the Deep Core underwater platform, is less than thrilled when he learns that he and his crew will be taking orders from the Navy for a rescue operation, but he’s even less pleased when his ex-wife Lindsey joins the Navy SEALs who are paying a visit to Deep Core. The cocksure leader of the SEALs, Lt. Coffey, suffers from high-pressure nervousness syndrome as a result of the dive to reach Deep Core, and slowly loses control, growing violent and paranoid. Upon reaching the submarine, Coffey finally reveals that the vessel was carrying hundreds of megatons of nuclear weapons, giving Deep Core’s divers cause for concern – especially when they find that something other than the dead crew inhabits this part of the ocean. Another power loss occurs, and one of Bud’s crew sees something so startling that it renders him comatose. Lindsey also sees something, but she is unable to describe or explain it.
Unknown to Deep Core’s divers, Coffey has been ordered to recover one of the sub’s nuclear warheads, believing that whatever the diving team saw must have been a Soviet submarine. On the surface, international tensions are reaching a boiling point as Soviet and American military forces brave the hurricane to form a line of scrimmage that could explode into World War III. And worse yet, the huge crane which connects Benthic Explorer to Deep Core is torn away from the Explorer and crashes down into the 20,000 foot deep trench, dragging Deep Core right along with it. The platform comes to a shattering stop on a ledge halfway down the trench, out of contact with the surface, short on oxygen and power, and with no hope of rescue. The increasingly delusional Coffey intends to use his salvaged nuclear warhead to attack whatever has been causing the power losses.
When the unknown force proves itself fully capable of boarding Deep Core without harming any of the crew, they begin to wonder which is the greatest threat – an unknown life form buried in the depths of the Atlantic, or the human impulse for violent acts against anything or anyone unfamiliar?
Review: I still think that James Cameron has yet to top The Abyss. I mean, sure, the guy did Titanic, Aliens, and both Terminator movies, but this is the Cameron film I have always enjoyed the most. One must admit, the mere fact that The Abyss was made at all, with at least two thirds of the movie shot underwater, is an incredible technical feat – much more impressive, in my book, than reconstructing an ocean liner with CGI. I can’t even begin to imagine how dangerous it was to shoot in such an environment, even if it was nothing more than a large water tank. But this movie isn’t all about special effects and underwater photography. The script is very well written, and even the studio-bound scenes are tense and well-shot. And for what it’s worth, the effects are indeed awesome, including some of the earliest good CGI work of a translucent water-based extension of the undersea creatures. (more…)