You
would think superstitious sailors would never name their vessel after the
legendary nymph Niamh Cinn Oir, given how tragically her romance with a mortal
ended, but apparently this salty sea-faring couple did just that. However,
everyone on-board seems to believe redheads are unlucky. That will make things
even more awkward for their new passenger, a ginger-haired grad student.
However, they will need her marine biology expertise when they encounter a
strange mollusk creature in Neasa Hardiman’s Sea Fever, which releases
today on VOD.
She
prefers the lab, but Siobhan must conduct some field observation to complete
her advanced degree. The Niamh Cinn Oir is not exactly a research vessel, but
its owners, married couple Gerard and Freya need the money. The spectrum-ish
Siobhan does not exactly endear herself to the crew, but her scientific
knowledge and scuba diving talent will come in handy when the ship is thrown
off course by a large mysterious object, damaging their radio and navigation.
It
turns out the trawler is tied up by the tentacles of a large squid-like monster.
Rather ominously, its secretions have a corroding effect on the hull. Even
worse, it holds weird parasitic organisms that causes blindness, projectile-hemorrhaging,
and madness. As a scientist, Siobhan understands the need to quarantine
everyone on-board before they return home—if that will even be possible—but the
rest of the crew doesn’t want to listen.
Sea
Fever is
an unusually moody monster movie that builds as much tension out of
character-based conflicts as it does from the thing in the ocean. Most of the
crew have very distinct personalities, including Freya & Gerard, as well as
Omid, the Serbian engineer (who is nearly as standoffish as Siobhan) and gray-haired
Ciara (who is not as kindly as she looks).
Although
this is clearly a scrappy production (the polite way of saying “low budget”),
the creature effects look decent. Admittedly, Hardiman tries to imply more than
she actually shows, but that is usually a wise strategy, even when budget
constraints are not an issue. Her screenplay also makes the underlying science
sound credible and realistic. In some respects, the film evokes the vibe of
vintage Doctor Who (in the best, nostalgic way), as well as the isolated
alienation of John Carpenter’s The Thing remake.
As
Siobhan and Omid, Hermoine Corfield and Ardalan Esmaili develop some
intriguing, not-exactly-romantic chemistry together. Yet, it is Dougray Scott
and Connie Nielsen who really lower the emotional boom whilst leading the crew
in the sailor’s prayer, after the enormity of their situation starts to become
clear. Plus, Olwen Fouere makes Ciara quite an unpredictable wildcard.
It
will be rather ironic for some viewers to hear the crew freak-out over the
prospects off a 36-hour quarantine period during the brave new era of 15-day
self-isolation for those potentially exposed to CCP-virus, but we can certainly
identify with their potential stir-craziness. Regardless, this is a thoughtful,
quality genre film. Highly recommended for fans of monster films, Sea Fever is
now available on VOD platforms.
