Deep Blue Infection: "Sea Fever" skillfully made and acted but doesn't quite grip


Sea Fever (2020)
89 min.
Release Date: April 10, 2020 (Digital & VOD)

Not all horror movies need to jolt an audience with a “gotcha” moment or a fleeting thrill. Aquatic sci-fi survival drama “Sea Fever” is clearly devoted to being a thinking-person’s genre picture, but even with the accidental prescience and timeliness of a film in which its infected characters must self-quarantine, why does it seem to lack the urgency of other, better like-minded movies? Written and directed by Irish filmmaker Neasa Hardiman, this modest, skillful, if underwhelming effort might tap into a feeling of cabin fever almost too well. One can appreciate the adult-minded approach and patient pacing, but there’s just not enough in “Sea Fever” that we haven't seen before and done more effectively in the sea.

Encouraged to gain more experience in the field, brilliant yet antisocial marine biologist Siobhán (Hermione Corfield) hops aboard a trawler off the west coast of Ireland. The boat is owned by married couple Gerard (Dougray Scott) and Freya (Connie Nielsen), who are counting on their next big catch, and the crew is made up of fishermen Johnny (Jack Hickey) and Sudi (Elie Bouakaze), engineer Omid (Ardalan Esmaili), and Johnny’s aunt Ciara (Olwen Fouéré). Siobhán doesn’t make the greatest first impression by taking off her beanie to reveal red hair when the crew has its superstitions that redheads are bad luck. That’s nothing compared to the organism and goo that, respectively, latches itself and oozes through the hull of the boat once Gerard sails the crew into restricted waters. When Siobhán takes the dive, she discovers that the phosphorescent barnacle that has disabled the boat is actually a sucker-mouthed, lamprey-like creature unleashing microscopic parasites into the water supply and then the crew members’ eyes. 

Not so much slow-burning as it is exceedingly subdued, “Sea Fever” does take a while to get underway, and even when it gets to burning, it still doesn't fully grip or rattle. More reminiscent of 2013’s “Europa Report” than “Alien” or any of its effective derivatives—only at sea rather than in space—the film does explore the unknowable mysteries of nature, as well as logical versus emotional decisions and the capacity for self-sacrifice in a perilous situation. This mysterious species just wants to survive like the humans who feel threatened, right? Filmmaker Neasa Hardiman admirably cares about ideas over surface-deep scares, but why can’t a film of this type be thoughtful and thrilling? Besides a few of the interchangeable bearded men, the characters do feel distinct, seem to have lives beyond the frames of the story, and all respond differently when their laid-back fishing trip turns harrowing. As the interloper and entry point into the story, Hermione Corfield's (2019’s “Rust Creek”) uncharismatic and reclusive if scientifically minded Siobhán is the most compelling and worth caring about, carrying herself with smarts and a poise.

There are a couple gnarly body-horror moments—exploding eyes, anyone?—and the creature design, in all its neon-glow glory, is impressive and beautiful. Even the masterfully tense “testing” sequence from John Carpenter’s “The Thing” gets recalled in a quietly suspenseful fashion, in which Siobhán uses a flashlight to check the crew for signs of infection in their pupils. The dramatically potent final moments are sneaky and earned, however, one wishes what came before that point was half as daring and more impactful. Languid when a little more oomph wouldn’t have hurt the pacing, “Sea Fever” is a minimalist seafaring journey without reaching the desired level of paranoia and tension. Better still, this is a fine calling card that should allow Neasa Hardiman to have legs as a filmmaker.

Grade: C +

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