Gods of the Deep review
Excellent creature designs and a lean story cover a lot of problems and result in a fun, though often dumb, time.
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Gods of the Deep
Directed by Charlie Steeds
Written by Charlie Steeds
Starring Makenna Guyler, Derek Nelson, Kane Surry, Tim Cartwright, Rory Wilton, Lisa Gorgin, David Lenik and Rowena Bentley
Gods of the Deep Review
Sometimes a movie has just enough fun to cover its more nonsensical parts. That is the case with the new Lovecraftian oceanic creature feature Gods of the Deep. The movie doesn’t waste any time getting down to business. Even when that business is inherently silly…the fast pacing and lack of fat on the story speeds us straight to the next distraction. Coming in at a lean 78 minutes…Gods of the Deep doesn’t offer up well-developed characters or even a well thought out plot. It drops people directly into the unknown and lets the Gods of the Deep sort it out.
An expedition through a mysterious hole in the floor of the ocean uncovers an ancient creature. With life support running out and a living piece of creature tissue running amok…a return to the surface becomes increasingly unlikely. That might not be a bad thing after the tissue begins to take control.
The first thing you’ll notice about Gods of the Deep is how much it loves H.P. Lovecraft. It takes only moments to namedrop The Pickman Corporation and Miskatonic University. The submersible used on the expedition is called Providence 3. It’s greatest homage, of course, is in the wonderful creature design. This is some of the best Lovecraftian sea monster work ever put on film. What the crew discovers once they make it to the other side of that strange opening is truly awesome. It’s a standout scene. The movie treats it as such. Although it rarely slows down or gives time to let things breathe…it knows what it has when it unveils its monster.
Gods of the Deep is so anxious to get to the fun that it completely skips over the crew’s two months of training before they embark on their journey. The script tells you they’ll be training for two months…then it cuts to the day of the big trip. On one hand…we get no bonding scenes for the characters. There’s no reason to care much about them or what is going to happen to them. On the other…there is a giant underwater monster to get to what are we wasting time on that for?
The two characters that we are supposed to care about are Jim (Derek Nelson) and Christine (Makenna Guyler). They are the only ones who the movie takes even a moment’s pause to introduce properly. Not much time passes between the opening of the film and the expedition’s launch. In that time, we learn everything about the mission and have several characters thrown at us. It’s emblematic of the entire movie. Gods of the Deep might be about a slow trek through the deepest parts of the ocean…but it absolutely flies.
Providence 3 is best described as hilariously big. The giant rooms and long corridors might make for an easier shoot…but you have to accept that these people are taking an aircraft carrier to the bottom of the ocean (and beyond). It’s not the only ridiculous thing that you have to look past in Gods of the Deep…but it’s the hardest one to look past. Thankfully, the silly choices combine with the breakneck pacing to make everything here feel fun. Nonsensical? Sure. But fun.
There is a good reason that the movie can’t wait to get us beyond the ocean floor. They spot the remains of an unknown creature and Jim heads out in a second (appropriately sized) submersible to collect a sample. That’s when all hell breaks loose. Their presence awakens a giant monster that aims to take down the submersible. When I say giant…I mean giant. It’s an impressive creature worthy of the price of admission.
The giant monster is contained to one sequence. That doesn’t mean the fun stops there, however. After they manage to get away the movie turns into a bit of Ridley Scott’s Alien. The tissue sample they bring on board begins to wreak havoc on the crew of the ship. Actually…given the crew’s reaction it might be better stated as James Cameron’s Aliens set on the original movie’s Nostromo. I don’t know exactly why someone would bring a machine gun onto a deep-sea submersible…but boy does it ever get put to work. No fear of shooting holes in the walls and killing everyone, I suppose. Yes…Gods of the Deep can be exceedingly absurd. It’s part of the movie’s charm.
There are more absurdities. At one point Christine is revived from drowning so long after her last breath it would be impossible. She bounces right back without a hint of brain damage. Again…the charm. Gods of the Deep doesn’t care about accuracy. It simply wants to be fun. It is that. Shallow characters get into deep water and go to war with the unknown. Creature effects are the standout here. The fast pace and ticking clock against their ability to resurface in time makes for a silly, yet entertaining, voyage.
Scare Value
What can we really say about Gods of the Deep? It does what it wants to do exceptionally well. It also doesn’t strive to do any more than that. In a way it’s refreshing. The practical effects are awesome. It moves so fast that you almost won’t have time to shake your head at the ridiculousness involved with many of the choices. It’s a fun time first and foremost. Perhaps, only.
2.5/5
Gods of the Deep Links
Rent/Buy on VOD from VUDU and Amazon
