The recent release of Phil Volken’s Dead Sea has coalesced with crime and horror drama, but the amalgamation falls short of building up a sensible narrative or pulling the audience in with enthralling aesthetics. The film is entertaining in the beginning but fails profoundly towards the conclusion considering the overused plot twists, the unsophisticated personalities of the characters, and an overall bland environment which all fails if the goal is to project horror. Even with a remarkable cast like Dean Cameron and Isabel Gravitt, this film gives us no satisfaction especially when its core idea is entirely askew.
A Rescue That Turned Into A Nightmare
The movie starts off with Kaya (Isabel Gravitt), Xander (Koa Tom), and Julian (Garrett Wareing) on a jet ski, all tension and stress-free. However, the situation drastically transforms when they get lost in the ocean after an incident in a recreational area. While they are sitting tight waiting for help, Curtis Hunt (Dean Cameron), a commander rather than a fisherman kindly arrives. All the efforts to meet turn out to be in vain since the supporters of the boat hope is quite a dark story.
The Bad: Plot and Concept
The film introduces an idea that has very low originality but has a slight sense of promise. But, it is clear from the trailer and other teasers that Dean Cameron had a broader vision for the film which obviously makes the amalgamation of isolation of the sea and the holding of a trawler seem great In theory, however, within the film, the Dead Sea has to grapple with extreme challenges in creating and accordingly sustaining the tension that makes for some good suspense-filled moments. The plot of this film dramatically lacks any real ‘realism’ or the feeling of apprehensiveness, it is everything one expects it to be. Within the first few scenes of the movie, it is quite clear what the plot of the movie is, within the film’s entirety there aren’t any plot twists that can significantly alter the viewer’s perception or understanding of the film.
Curtis Hunt is arguably the most appropriate choice for the role, it is hard to find a role in the film which isn’t a caricature. Hunt’s deep voice may be intimidating but unfortunately, it does not support the storyline in any positive manner. Isabel Gravitt who plays Kaya was able to showcase some determination and ingenuity and the performance was good enough. Unfortunately, the audience cannot feel a sense of sympathy for her or her friends, mainly due to their lack of sufficient development.
The Good: Suspense and Theme The film portrays the tale of the goddess of the sea and her daughter with Shy Sybille. Sybille is a mother figure to the protagonist and states “Do not enter the sea.” However, Oona who is a spark full of mysterious energy, cannot forget the sea’s lure. It was quite amusing how throughout the film, Oona has self-confidence problems which could be seen, but in the end, she is able to accept her true self. I do feel that DnS does sell their exposures more than literally portraying them on screen. I do feel that the climax could have been, although the mouth did have one but it did feel a bit too rushed. There was so much that could have been done in terms of pacing that could have built upon climactic moments.
The Bad: Pacing and Character Development Moving on to the other side. The pacing relates to my other very weak aspect as well, the characters. They feel like a spin cycle or a rinse. Maybe she was intended to develop some substance to Kaya but in scope, they did not and kept the character dull, and uninteresting. Xander and Julian, they’re for every practical purpose, friends. The role of Rey as portrayed by Alexander Wraith, adds some slight tension but is more an extra role than leads in the film.
The pacing is mostly to blame and believe me, the lack of it is even a tad bigger for the negative sides of the film.
It’s only through the first part of the film that everything slots into place and this is in stark contrast to the rest of the film which was rather boring as there was not much to further the plot. Moreover, the suspense feels quite underwhelming as well because the movie does not maintain a strong flow and seems to be following a generic horror movie script with weak dialogues. Staleness is far too kind when it comes to such wholesomeness.
Visuals and Sound: Potential That Has Not Been Fully Explored When it comes to the visual and auditory aspects of the Dead Sea, there is room for improvement. Yes, the cinematography was trying to make an effort but it was far and few between as there were no other filming techniques that were employed which would give life to the sea and the trawler that would help in instilling a fear of suffocation to the audience. The sound design too is uninspired with a mundane score that does not add any value to the film.
Overall: Le Temps Perdu
Crime and horror incarnate can be found in The Dead Sea but the execution fails to what needs to be done. The storyline is sad and terribly cliche and the characters have not been well thought out at all and even their efforts to create an atmosphere did not do the cutlet which is why the film has so many evident gaps. The acting of the two lead ladies gravitt and Cameron deserves some praise but even that is not enough to lift the movie beyond the script’s limits.
In terms of the overarching message, Dead Sea depicts humanity’s greatest flaw its cruelty and portrays true survival needs as a great theme as well, but since the two are already out there trying to explain the film’s lack of value – how do you explain the purpose otherwise? Not that the film has any greater aim apart from highlighting a specific aspect of man’s darker side, in short, the lack of Samuel Beckett style of detailed research and analysis on such subjects and themes leaves gaping holes.
Final Thoughts: The Dead Sea is therefore a fantastic example of what a good chance was thrown away. It possesses all the necessary elements of a good crime horror film yet they are left to go to waste. The whole plot is linear, the characters are introduced with little thought, and there were only a few times the mood of the film was aimed to be worked out and placed, and so forth. There is nothing in this film that is strong enough to make a lasting impression on the audience.
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