The Depths of the Underwater-Aliens Craze
By the late 80s, ‘Alien Knockoffs’ had been a video store staple for almost a decade, hell, it’s practically its own sub-genre. Thanks to Roger Corman and other low-budget auteurs, the Horror section was replete with titles like Galaxy of Terror, Forbidden World, Inseminoid, The Terror Within, Creature… But with rumours of a new James Cameron underwater epic circulating Hollywood, execs rushed their own cluster of films about small crews of specialists against mysterious deep-sea threats. By 1989, the ‘underwater Alien’ trend had us swimming in sea monsters for a year.
The fact that you can ask a question like – “What’s your favourite underwater monster movie from 1989?” – is pretty indicative of how big a splash this was.
My answer is usually DeepStar Six. But George P. Cosmatos’ Leviathan is another personal favourite that just seems to get better with every plunge. The cast is stellar and the drippy body-horror creature effects are beyond oscar-worthy.
This was a high watermark in the ’89 Underwater-Aliens fad. -Pop
Leviathan surfaced on Home Video today in 1989, after a March 17th theatrical dive.