Creatures from the Abyss

aka Plankton 

Director - Massimiliano Cerchi (Hellinger, Carnage Road)
Starring - Clay Rogers, Michael Bon, and Sharon Twomey (A Fish Called Wanda)
Release Date - 1994
Genre - Horror
Tagline(s) - "Sit right back and hear a tale, A tale of a frightful ship" and "Carnivorous fish that live out of water? Now we know why this ship has no crew!"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

      When horror fans think of Italian horror they often immediately start thinking about director Lucio Fulci and his amazing body of work. Sure, some think about Dario Argento and countless others because they all deserve respect but most people would agree that Lucio Fulci set the standard for Italian horror.  His films are sleazy and took terrifying to a whole new level.  They were often serious, bloody, and filled with more gore than any one person can withstand.  That is what people really loved about Italian horror.  They loved how real the films are.  However, just like any other country Italy has filmmakers that do not take themselves seriously and create fun films for the audience.  That brings me to the 1994 sci-fi horror flick Creatures from the Abyss that was originally released under the name Plankton.  I found this DVD at FYE for $1 in September and had to have it.  The artwork and title did their job and pulled me in.  After having it for well over a month I decided it was time to give it a go.
     The film follows a group of twenty-somethings as a fun day on the water quickly turns gloomy when they get stranded at sea with an on-coming storm approaching. They seek salvation in an abandoned yacht.  They search the ship over and could not find anyone alive on board but they did find a testing lab below deck.  The group drinks the former owner's wine and food unaware that a mutated carnivorous fish has been unleashed from the lab and stalking the group one by one.  They find a traumatized scientist and discover that the mutant fish is mutating into humanoid beasts that take on the look of their friend.  Their friend beast rapes one of the female members of the group before pure chaos ensues.  As all the members die the last remaining few decide that it is not about them surviving but about them killing the beast and blow the ship up.
     Italian horror, though it is known for mostly being serious and brutal, has some great films that stray away from the darker side of the genre. It is because they are on the lighter side of horror that they are often looked over here in the U.S. because we can find films just like it a dime a dozen.  These films are fun, often funny, and go at the horror genre without the use of gore.  Don't get me wrong, I love me some gore but sometimes I just want to watch a straight forward movie that has some cheap laughs.  This fim gave me just that.  As the artwork above suggests, this film is a fun flick that combines the best elements of nautical sci-fi with that of the monster flicks of the drive-in era of cinema.  The acting in this one has to be split up.  The cast portray their characters in over-the-top ways to make them look more quirky than the usual horror fair.  The second part of the acting is the dubbing.  I have seen a lot of films that have been dubbed and this one is by far the worst one yet.  It does make some of the scenes and character interactions difficult to watch.  The story is nothing new but it does have a very clever twist that pays homage to the creature feature flicks from the past.  I also feel that Piranha 3D borrowed more from this film than the original Piranha.  The cast and crew decided to give the viewer a fun film experience instead of trying to deliver a complex and original story.  Finally, those looking for gallons of blood and gore will not find them here.  However, if you are looking for great special effects and beautiful sets then please look no further because this film has it.  Overall, some films are made to shock and "aww" the audience while others are made to simply entertain.  This film chose to entertain and give the viewers a monster movie they are sure to never forget.  I highly recommend it.