Dead Calm

Remember the shower scene in Psycho?  The terro-filled leap from the deep of the great white in Jaws?  The rollercoaster frenzy of Glenn Close's Alex in Fatal Attraction?  If you loved those popcorn-spilling thrills, sit tight.  Dead Calm has so many nerve-jangling moments it just might blow out your corn popper.  Filmmaker George Miller (the Mad Max seriers,  The Witches of Eastwick) and director Phillip Noyce (Newsfront, The Hitchhiker) send you on a voyage of full-masted fright in Dead Calm, "a spare, smart, seductive piece of real moviemaking with...enough tension to keep us all hyperventilating for hours" (Sheila Benson, Los Angeles Times).  The suspense begins on the high seas when John and Rae Ingram (Sam Neill of A Cry in the Dark and radiant newcomer Nicole Kidman) rescue a half-delirious stranger (Billy Zane).  He says he's the only surviving crew member of a crippled schooner, but he's really a demented killer.  And he'll soon plunge his rescuers into a terrifying battle of cat and mouse.  And life or death.  There's danger dead ahead.  So chart your course for an evening of suspense-packed entertainment.  Enjoy this shocker nominated for Best Picture plus seven more Australian Film Institute Awards (Downunder's Oscar equivalents) - and keep a sharp lookout!  Just when you think it's over, more terror erupts from Dead Calm's glassy waters.
Running time 96 mins. WB 1988.  Rated R

Personal rating:

I loved this movie.  You don't have to be a Billy Zane fan to appreciate the suspense in it.  This is one of Billy Zane's best films out of many.  He looks incredible and you get a chance to see him dance.  :-)

On a scale of 1-10, I give it a 10!!