Fresh
Though not always entirely credible, Dead Calm is a nail-biting suspense pic [from the novel by Charles Williams] handsomely produced and inventively directed.
Variety Staff, Variety
Dead Calm
High seas. Deep terror. Try to stay calm.
1989 · 1h 36m · R
Drama, Horror, Thriller
Directed by
Phillip Noyce
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Dead Calm
Overview
An Australian couple takes a sailing trip in the Pacific to get over the recent loss of their son. While on the open sea, they come across a sinking ship with one survivor who is not at all what he seems.
Director and cast
- Phillip Noyce Director
- Nicole Kidman as Rae Ingram
- Sam Neill as John Ingram
- Billy Zane as Hughie Warriner
- George Shevtsov as Doctor
- Rod Mullinar as Russell Bellows
- Joshua Tilden as Danny
- Michael Long as Specialist Doctor
- Lisa Collins as 'Orpheus' Cruise Girl
- Paula Hudson-Brinkley as 'Orpheus' Cruise Girl
- Sharon Cook as 'Orpheus' Cruise Girl
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
83%
Tomatometer
Fresh
A classic piece of pared-down genre film-making is lent extra depth by an emotional subtext stressing Kidman's transition from dependent wife to resourceful individual.
Nigel Floyd, Time Out
Rotten
"Dead Calm" ... becomes disturbing for all the wrong reasons.
Caryn James, New York Times
Fresh
This is not a gimmick film ... and Kidman and Zane do generate real, palpable hatred in their scenes together.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Rotten
[Noyce is] a masterful manipulator, but eventually there is no more wind in these sails, not even enough to riffle a jib, as the story and Rae's character wear thin.
Rita Kempley, Washington Post
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