'Sea Fever' pays homage to the classics while telling an original and engaging story. People with seasickness beware!

On August 20, the digital release of the Irish sci-fi horror film Sea Fever took place across Russia. We tell you why this film deserves a chance and how it resembles the cult works of Ridley Scott and John Carpenter.

A Simple Yet Effective Story Setup

According to the plot, marine biology student Siobhán (Hermione Corfield) sets sail on the open sea with a crew of experienced fishermen. However, instead of a routine but useful internship, the heroine must confront unknown and dangerous sea creatures.

The creators of Sea Fever do not try to invent anything new or unusual in terms of plot. Stories about a group of people cut off from the world and encountering a mysterious something have long become genre classics. First, there was space (Alien), then the Arctic (The Thing), and now viewers are offered to fear what the sea hides. With the right presentation, such plots still work reliably.

An Element of Plausibility

Many similar projects try to attract stars and familiar actors (see Underwater), which often strips the story of even a shred of plausibility. In Sea Fever, the main characters are the simplest people, who nonetheless represent quite interesting characters (a brilliant introvert, a hardened ship owner, a talented but cowardly engineer, etc.).

The realism of the story is also enhanced by the fact that the underwater world is far from the most studied place on Earth and can indeed harbor various dangers for humans. The filmmakers very subtly captured this feeling of fear of the unknown.

A Stylish Claustrophobic Thriller

Formally, Sea Fever is a film at the intersection of horror and science fiction. In reality, it is more appropriately called a claustrophobic thriller. The film's director, Neasa Hardiman (Jessica Jones, Happy Valley), masterfully sets the accents, making the pressure build up in parallel with the growing paranoid moods among the crew members trapped on the open sea.

Confined spaces not only serve as a wonderful tool for creating atmosphere but also help the viewer get a closer look at the characters and their relationships. Even if some crew members do not receive separate stories and are not written very deeply, the main characters have no problem in this regard.

Is the Film 'Sea Fever' Worth Watching?

Neasa Hardiman's film has a lot to boast about. This includes a literally physically palpable atmosphere of a confined space with a touch of maritime ambiance, a clear narrative dynamic with a series of emotional outbursts, and decent technical execution. All of this together works for an engaging story, and the homages to genre classics do not prevent Sea Fever from being a fully independent and original film.

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