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Dead Calm
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Dead Calm (1989)

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User Rating: 6.9/10 (10,434 votes)
Photos (see all 26 | slideshow) Videos

Overview

Director:
Phillip Noyce
Writers:
Charles Williams (novel)
Terry Hayes (screenplay)
Release Date:
7 April 1989 (USA) more view trailer
Genre:
Horror | Thriller more
Tagline:
A Voyage Into Fear. more
Plot:
A mass-murderer kidnaps and seduces a young woman after leaving her husband to die on the vessel whose crew he's just slaughtered. full summary | full synopsis (warning! may contain spoilers)
Awards:
5 wins & 5 nominations more
User Comments:
A great horror thriller in the style of Eric Red more

Cast

 (Complete credited cast)

Nicole Kidman ... Rae Ingram

Sam Neill ... John Ingram

Billy Zane ... Hughie Warriner
Rod Mullinar ... Russell Bellows
Joshua Tilden ... Danny
George Shevtsov ... Doctor
Michael Long ... Specialist Doctor
Lisa Collins ... 'Orpheus' Cruise Girl
Paula Hudson-Brinkley ... 'Orpheus' Cruise Girl
Sharon Cook ... 'Orpheus' Cruise Girl
Malinda Rutter ... 'Orpheus' Cruise Girl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Benji ... Dog (as Benji U.D., A.D.)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Dead Calm: A Voyage Into Fear (USA) (poster title)
more
Runtime:
96 min
Country:
Australia | USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby SR
MOVIEmeter: ?
V 19% since last week why?

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Around 1997, there were rumors that Orson Welles material had been revised and seemed "as good as complete (compared to the shooting script)," and that his widow, Paola Mori, was trying to get it cut and distributed. more
Goofs:
Continuity: At the end of the film, the suds from the shampoo in Rae's hair disappear. more
Quotes:
[Rae has just done away with a psychotic killer and rescued her husband from being lost at sea]
Rae Ingram: You know what I'd love for lunch? Fresh asparagus, then, um, pasta - angel hair pasta with heaps of basil, garlic, olive oil and, uh, apple pie. Uh, John, have you got a towel?
more
Soundtrack:
NO-MAD more

FAQ

Why did Rae have sex with Hughie?
Was Hughie's boat actually sinking or not?
Does John know that Rae had sex with Hughie?
more
30 out of 37 people found the following comment useful:-
A great horror thriller in the style of Eric Red, 29 May 2002
8/10
Author: Bogey Man from Finland

Dead Calm is directed by Australian film maker Philip Noyce (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger) and he is very talented director. This film stars young Nicole Kidman (21-22 years old in this film!) as a wife to Sam Neill and they have lost their son in a horrible car accident. They want to get over it and so they go to the sea with their boat and spend several weeks there. All is going fine and they are going to get over the loss of their son, but soon they discover an abandoned looking ship in the horizon and a man (Billy Zane) paddling desperately towards them. The man reaches the ship and the couple helps him on the board. He is little confusing and suspicious and soon his real nature is revealed...

This is extremely pleasant thriller and reminds me of films written by Eric Red (The Hitcher, Near Dark, Blue Steel) and these four films are very similar. The atmosphere in Dead Calm is very haunting and incredibly restrained. The atmosphere is also very similar to David Lynch and Lost Highway and Twin Peaks. The music is very important element in Dead Calm (as is in The Hitcher and Near Dark, too) and the overall feeling is very threatening and ominous. There are many exciting and breath taking scenes such as the one in which Sam Neill is trapped in a boat that is sinking and filling with water. With music, the photography is great and there are definitely no technical flaws in this great and surprisingly effective flick.

The young Nicole Kidman is so talented and acts perfectly. No one can say she can't act. Just look at her face and expressions: she is the main character in here and she is almost in every scene and she does nothing wrong or never acts over the top. The other actor's are also great, Sam Neill and Bill Zane, even though Zane goes little too far in couple of scenes and is not too believable. But overall, because there are so many great elements here, these little flaws and illogical plot turns can be forgiven.

Philip Noyce is worth watching director and he has done also other effective thrillers, but I think this will be one of his greatest achievements. Dead Calm is highly recommended.

8/10

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Message Boards

Discuss this title with other users on IMDb message board for Dead Calm (1989)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Why didn't she throw him overboard?! Yoakamsgal84
This is Orson Welles' film 'The Deep' MONOLITHIC1
What Boat Was It? Deals7
Why have sex with Zane? queendarkjewel
Massive Nicole face work? red95king
is it worth reading the book? AsorbicAcid
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