Thriller

Horror

Dead Calm

Kennedy Miller Productions

Warner Bros. Pictures

Australia

English

Nicole Kidman

Sam Neill

Billy Zane

George Shevtsov

Rod Mullinar

Joshua Tilden

Michael Long

Lisa Collins

Paula Hudson-Brinkley

Sharon Cook

Malinda Rutter

Phillip Noyce

Terry Hayes

Graeme Revell

Dean Semler

Charles Williams

George Miller

Doug Mitchell

Richard Francis-Bruce

Liz Mullinar

Wallis Nicita

Graham 'Grace' Walker

Kim Hilder

Norma Moriceau

Noriko Watanabe

Narelle Barsby

Marcus D'Arcy

Claire O'Brien

Vincent Monton

Lee Smith

Peter Townend

Glenn Boswell

Glenn Ruehland

Louise Innes

Ben Osmo

Colin Fletcher

Tony Wellington

Murray Robertson

Charles Rotherham

John Titley

Ian Astridge

Jenny Quigley

Susan Pullen

Mary-Jane Yates

Maggie Lake

Stephen Saks

Neville Mason

Janeen Faithfull

John May

Ian Jones

Colin Deane

David Lindsay

Sean McClory

Ross Berryman

Kevan Lind

Brian J. Breheny

Glen Cogan

Gerry Nucifora

Lloyd Carrick

Joe Spinelli

John Morton

Alan Dunstan

Tex Foote

Tony Holtham

Lindsay Foote

Trevor Ripper

Dean Bryan

Craig Sykes

Paul Moyce

Irvine G. McLaughlin

Colin Tulloch

Ian McAlpine

Kerry Jackson

Danny Lockett

David Thomas

Shirley Ballard

Alison Ely

Ty Bosco

Joanne Zaluski

Jim Sheldon

Leah Cocks

Judy Ditter

Karan Monkhouse

Ian Allen

Mont Fieguth

Guido Helmstetter

Dennis Smith

John Rann

Bill Howe

Billy Malcolm

Ray Pedler

Brian Cox

David Hardie

David Young

Chris Murray

Wilson Starr

Bob McCarron

Lyddy Van Gyen

Michael Read

Tony Lynch

Richard Boué

Jeff Powis

Kate Quinn

Barbara Gibbs

Stay calm and you may yet not end up dead.

Dead Calm is directed by Phillip Noyce and adapted to screenplay by Terry Hayes from the novel of the same name written by Charles Williams. It stars Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane. Music is by Graeme Revell and cinematography by Dean Semler.

After losing their young son in a car accident, John (Neill) and Rae Ingram (Kidman) head out alone on their yacht for an ocean vacation. Whilst taking in some R&R, the couple spy a ship drifting in the distance, then a man in a dinghy hurriedly rows towards them. He boards their yacht, frantic and panicked, he tells them the ship is sinking and that all on board are dead, killed by food poisoning. His name is Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane), and the Ingram's are about to wish they had never met him....

The Saracen and The Orpheus.

It's so refreshing to find a thriller that works without tricks or elaborate plotting, where the narrative is stripped down to the bare bones and played out purely by three characters. Dead Calm, whilst not exactly the most credible of thrillers from the 80s, contains genuine suspense, a pot boiling heart and production value of some distinction. Director Noyce deals in psychological studies, primarily that of a lunatic and that of a woman beset with grief having to use her mental fortitude to hopefully save herself and her husband.

Noyce and his team get the maximum amount of edge of the seat thrills from a small isolated yacht in the middle of a vast ocean, with tight camera work and nifty editing, it's a film of quality that belies its pared back production. Even ace Aussie photographer Semler (previously Mad Max 2/Razorback, latterly Dances With Wolves/Waterworld) creates beauty out of such a sparse set up, where the blues and greens of the ocean warm the soul and the red sunsets please the eyes. They be glimpses of Mother Earth that give the Ingram's something tangible to fight for.

With the plot requiring Neill to be in his own isolated hell, he turns in a more measured performance, perfect in fact, but it's Zane and Kidman who steal the show. This would prove to be the launching point of Kidman's career, and it hints at the top actress she would become. She gives Rae Ingram a real strength through adversity, with energy in abundance, intelligence and a simmering sexuality, she's a lady character earning respect by film lovers because of Kidman's performance. Zane is suitably edgy, very much giving Hughie a man-child persona, he too exudes a dangerous sexuality, and when it inevitably kicks off, he is scary into the bargain.

A couple of daft character decisions within the story, and a WTF finale, stop it from being near the top of the thriller movie pantheon. But it's not far off from sitting with the best and it remains fresh and entertaining as the decades roll by. 8/10

Perfect example of why you should check out all the movies that doggy paddled away with an average 3/5 or 6/10 or whatever. For a large minority, it's not that they're simply average; it's that they were barely given a chance

Trailer

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Dead Calm

Cast & Crew

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Cast

Nicole Kidman

Sam Neill

Billy Zane

George Shevtsov

Rod Mullinar

Joshua Tilden

Michael Long

Lisa Collins

Paula Hudson-Brinkley

Sharon Cook

Box office

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