On D List of Movie Reviews

(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)

---

Dead Calm (1989)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 5/17

5/17: I picked up Dead Calm for one reason: Billy Zane.

Initially, I thought he might be good in it, but unfortunately, his acting comes off as amateurish. Hence, it's hard for me to take him seriously. This is the second biggest flaw.

The first is the lack of intelligence as the premise makes no sense. By following common sense, many problems will have been avoided in the first place. Or it can be the case of two stupid characters. There are other issues as well.

One, why not Rae push Hughie's body overboard after he passed out cold from the cocktail mix of lemonade and narcotics?

Two, why row all the way from the yacht to the schooner when it makes more sense to sail over there?

Three, why don't the couple radio for help? I'm sure there are ships in the vicinity.

Four, at the end, John is shown using a row boat and has it tied to the rear of the schooner. Then, the schooner starts to sink, and John escapes and gets on the raft. But why didn't he return to where he came from in the first place?

Five, the gun, the gun...it's loaded! Shoot Hughie already!

It feels like a contrived situation had been purposefully thrown on me. If the plot was more intelligent, Dead Calm would feel less cheap. The introduction is pointless by having no tie-in with the rest of the film. It's already old when Hughie came back from the dead to have one last stab at everybody just like the Friday the 13th movies.

All in all, Dead Calm is a bad Australian flick.

---