The Evil Below

source: The Evil Below

The Evil Below

This movie was total rubbish. A typical 1980s flick. Over the top n moronic. There was no action no suspense n no tension. I would class it as a drama of sorts. Definitely not a horror. The acting was terrible n the characters were benign n wooden. The story was ridiculous n the plot was so outrageous. Everything about this movie was bland n so lacking in charisma. The ending was really really lame n so predictable. I can not recommend this movie at all even if you like maritime mayhem.

Now this is by no means the worst film I've ever seen, but it might be one of the cheapest looking. And at under 90 minutes in length it still plods on. The cast are universally dull, the two leads are slightly better but that's not saying much. The plot about sunken treasure has all been done better many times and as for the Evil Below, it doesn't ever really happen. One two be left under the waves.

This underwater adventure rode the wave of waterlogged films coming out in 1989 (THE ABYSS, DEEP STAR SIX, LEVIATHAN, THE RIFT, LORDS OF THE DEEP, etc.). While the excellent cover sells the horror aspect, the film is closer to THE DEEP with treasure diving adventure taking up a majority of the running time. Horror elements do pop up though in the form of black magic, a big killer eel and a undead protagonist (who is never really explained). Stars Wayne Crawford of JAKE SPEED fame as the equally bizarre named Max Cash. Crawford is pleasant enough and somehow he ends up the object of every woman's affection in the film. How did he manage that? Oh yeah - he directed it! I guess that is as good as reason as any.

The VHS cover for The Evil Below makes it look like a cool underwater horror flick. Sadly it's closer to a boring adventure flick and has no real horror elements. It starts off with some divers who get attacked and we see a bit of blood, but that's the only blood in the entire film. The Evil Below isn't the worst around, but for a horror film it is tediously boring. The acting is decent and to be honest the only thing that keeps you watching is the developing romance between the two leads. There's a few nightmare sequences where it just seems like the director didn't know what to do. I manged to sit through it all (just about) but I wouldn't recommend this film to ANYONE. Horror fans might want a copy for the cool VHS cover, but it's best left at that.