‘Fear is rising.’
The Thing Below – aka Sea Ghost – is a 2004 science fiction horror film directed by Jim Wynorski [as Jay Andrews] (Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre; CobraGator; Chopping Mall; et al) from a screenplay written by Raul Inglis (Goblin; Ghoul; Sand Serpents; Cerberus) and Keith Shaw [as Lindsay James] (Avalanche Sharks; Ice Road Terror; Deep Evil). The movie stars Billy Warlock, Kurt Max Runte and Catherine Lough Haggquist.
The film was also released as Ghost Rig 2: The Legend of the Sea Ghost in the UK to make it seem like a sequel to the British pic Ghost Rig (2003).
Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk
Plot:
A top secret drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico raises a dormant alien creature from the depths. Once loose, the creature goes on a murderous rampage by telepathically exploiting the fears and desires of anyone to cross its path…
Reviews:
” …most of The Thing Below isn’t that bad. It’s just that damn CGI creature that ruins it all. If they’d of taken the monster out completely and played the movie out as a supernatural being causing all the havoc then this could’ve actually been better. Scripters Raul Sanchez Inglis and Lindsay James make the creature able to play with the crews’ minds, which leads to a whole slew of okay hallucinations…” The Video Graveyard
“Of course, this kind of film can only be so good to begin with, but given the inherent natural ceiling above low budget alien creature films in general, Sea Ghost really could have been OK – except for one thing: Worst … CGI … ever. The creature looks about as real as Pete’s Dragon, but not as scary.” Scoopy.com
“I’m sure once the filmmakers saw the quality of their monster special effects, (terrible, awful, etc), they decided to take the telepathic creature route. It didn’t really matter which monster they chose because there’s no suspense, no thrills and pretty much nothing below. Well, nothing worth getting excited about that’s for sure.” Doctor Gore’s Movie Reviews
“The Case For: I guess if you wanted to watch a movie about mind-controlling aliens and isolation you could rent this if The Thing was out. The Case Against: Somewhere, someone’s going to make money off that rental, and that just encourages them to make more movies like this.” Something Awful
Choice dialogue:
“Shit’s going to blow like fireworks on the 4th of July!”
“Dammit, Colonel, listen. We’ve got five good troops on that boat and they have a snowball’s chance of finding a needle in a haystack. I know a stitch in time saves nine, but the buns are burning and the oven’s getting cold. We need an answer, and we need it now!”
“Looks like a set from a Peckinpah movie.”
Cast and characters:
- Billy Warlock as Captain Jack Griffin (Society; Halloween II)
- Kurt Max Runte as Crank Wowchowski (The Unseen; Godzilla; The Tortured)
- Catherine Lough Haggquist as Anna Davis (Puppet Killer; Godzilla)
- Peter Graham-Gaudreau as Dean Rieser
Warren Christie as Cassidy- Kiara Hunter as Mel Rodgers
- David Richmond-Peck as Bobby Gibbons
- Colin Lawrence as Dixon
- Jim Thorburn as Cole Griffin
- Craig Bruhnanski as Captain Mark Stewart
- John Reardon as Lance Taylor
- Ari Solomon as Prouty
- Julie Hill as Professor Glenda Marshall
- Ken Kramer as Doctor Edgar Pretorious
- Darryl Scheelar as Peters
- Jano Frandsen as Commander Korda
- Michael Rogers as Mr. Paul
- Eric Breker as Bob Davis
- Glori-Anne Gilbert as Cindy Mayberry
Filming locations:
Vancouver and British Columbia, Canada
