It is a performances centric movie

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Project leader Van Gelder is driving most of the crew nuts. He's behind schedule on constructing an underwater missile platform for the US Navy. Unfortunately, pro forma sound checks reveal a cave beneath the seabed over which the platform was to be built. Van Gelder orders that explosives be used to collapse the cave so that building can continue. Burciaga and Collins register their objections due to structural risks. Scarpelli objects since she will lose any chance of studying possible life forms that normally reside in the caves. Captain Laidlaw sides with Van Gelder since the Navy is likely to shut down the project if there are any more delays.Hodges and Osborne set off the charges as ordered. When they send down a tethered remote unit to record stills and video, they manage to lose it. They detach from their tractor housing to pursue the remote, since losing it would be so expensive. The cavern is rather huge, and the likelihood of filling it in to continue construction looks bleak.That's when the elimination derby starts. The rest of the film is about survival: the crew versus whatever took out that the remote.This was a rather ordinary entry. It's sci-fi set underwater with some nasty creatures. This one turns into a more or less by-the-numbers elimination derby, with none of the characters (except perhaps Snyder) showing any awareness of what was happening. It was just not that interesting.

This is an enjoyable show about an ocean floor mission which uses well-delivered, well-made ships and machinery props. The show tries to be realistic in a successful way. For instance, there is truly a danger from too high an increase of atmospheric pressures under water that will infect the bloodstream and cause a person to literally collapse from not equalizing his inner body pressure with the outside sea pressure. This was used effectively here in the movie. The movie is presented in a mood of suspenseful dread, illuminated by a ray of hope for the crew's survival like many good edge-of-your-seat thriller flicks. The acting showed this intensity okay. It features as one of the members, Snyder, played by Miguel Ferrer, who seems to be disturbed and almost neurotic. He causes mishaps which leads the others to compounded disaster after the monster is known to be lurking somewhere around. There is a violent death of just about everyone and their trapped condition worsens progressively. It seems like the blame for the lost cause of their mission should and was put on Snyder and his actions as being the real detriment to the crew. I think this presents the main monster problem in an effectively scary way. I did feel that some of the scenery underwater was pretty and improved the movie. This film was an adventurous and entertaining show with a cast which included some attractive women although they played not as sex symbols but more influential roles comparable to their male counterparts. Watch this movie for unexpected disaster imposed on a seemingly normal sea quest!

It says a lot about the lack of imagination that when one studio comes up with an idea for a production other studios feel the need to join . If you have a film about a volcano for example there will be another film about a volcano . In 1989 Hollywood studios went one better and brought out three films with an identical premise of a deep sea research station making alien contact: LEVIATHAN , THE ABYSS and DEEPSTAR SIX . None of them did very well at the box office which says one thing - if you're going to play follow my leader at least follow a winner Having a film featuring aliens in inner space is no different from having a film featuring aliens in outer space so right away you're think of pulp B movie and unlike THE ABYSS this movie does try and stay true to its B movie roots , even the title DEEPSTAR SIX offers up connotations of sci-fi B movie horror It's strange watching how the storyline is structured . It's a very mechanical three act play but for some bizarre reason a film featuring the ocean as the backdrop lacks a hook . No not a fishing hook stupid a dramatic hook to pull the audience in . The first 30 minutes is composed of a group of marine biologists talking techno-babble as inCharacter A : Technical words , technical words ,technical words Character B : More technical words , technical words Character C : Even more technical words , technical words You can see what the director and screenwriter are trying to do , they're trying to convince the audience that these characters are scientists who exist in the real world and they succeed to a large degree but you're senseless and find yourself uncaring towards the characters . When a hot latina chick does a workout and gets all sweaty you may enjoy this scene then start fearing it might be the best scene in the movie After the first act the second becomes a disaster type movie where the research station will set off its nuclear reactor in the type of plot you've a million times and you're left wondering if DEEPSTAR SIX is a marketing scam not featuring a monster at all . Thankfully we do eventually get a big mouthed monster who chews up the cast but this doesn't happen until the one hour mark By no means a terrible film DEEPSTAR SIX will be a disappointment for those people watching it expecting to see brainless thrills and spills . As I said it feels like three films stuck together , a talkative scientific drama which turns in to a disaster flick and ends as a sci-fi horror B movie and one wonders why it just didn't hit the ground running as a more straight forward horror

The Crew (Greg Evigan, Nancy Everhard, Cindy Pickett, Miguel Ferrer, Marius Weyers, Matt McCoy, Nia Peeples, Taurean Blacque, Elya Baskin, Thom Bray and Ronn Carroll) of scientific ocean floor station "DeepStar Six". Which it is funded by the navy is expected to perform scientific studies as well as install an underwater nuclear missile silo. On a routine job, two of the crew members on the small submarine blasted the cave open. They decided to explore it but they encounter the unknown. When a large mysterious creature attacked the underwater ship and killed the two crew members instantly. Since this creature is attractive to light, this thing decides to attack the crew of the ocean floor station.Directed by "B" movie producer:Sean S. Cunningham (Friday the 13th, Spring Break) made an entertaining, low-budget adventure with some cheap thrills. The cast do their best with this material but it is Ferrer gives the only memorable performance in this cheap feature. Some people prefer this one over "Leviathan" but I think, "Leviathan" is better made, much superior cast and special effects are superior to "DeepStar Six". The look of the creature is not bad, the best thing in Cunningham's direction. He only used the creature in some key sequences and the monster only appears in the movie for a couple of minutes."DeepStar Six" should have had an large budget, what i felt hurts the movie are the underwater sequences are not very convincing. It seems to me that Cunningham worked hard on a low budget and he did his best to cover the flawed production values. It seems that Mario Kassar and Andrew Vanja from "Carolco Pictures" only give Cunningham an $10 million budget or less. I felt the script was good and Harry Manfredini (Best known for "Friday the 13th" movies) gives an good music score, probably his best work. I felt the cast seemed out of place, expect for Ferrer but they did their best.I would love to watch this movie in Widescreen, since the region 1 DVD's are only Full Screen. Maybe in a future Blu-ray release, we can finally watch it in the original Widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1.This is a update from March 25, 2013. I track down the Region 2 DVD from eBay. DVD has an good anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and Dolby 2.0 Surround Sound is quite good. DVD also includes an rather dull commentary track by the filmmakers, two featurette, original theatrical trailer and photo gallery.As a "B" movie, it works but fails as a "A" level production. Since "Carolco Pictures" are better known for their big budget productions. As a Guilty Pleasure, "DeepStar Six" is entertaining. It is memorable for Miguel Ferrer's standout supporting performance and an surprisingly good Harry Manfredini score. Certainly an interesting double feature with "Leviathan" for one night's viewing. Super 35. (*** ½/*****).