User Reviews

Ah, yes, underwater sci-fi (and horror). From 'The abyss,' to 'SeaQuest,' to 2020's 'Underwater,' and everything in between, the niche genre has been a darling of enterprising filmmakers and studio executives. Reliably solid production design and art direction, robust effects and enticing designs for any associated creatures or entities, large casts, swell scores from well-known composers - 1989's 'Leviathan' fits the bill neatly. It really does look and sound great, and one notes what seems to me to be a fairly large budget to capitalize on what was at the time quite a trend in film. I'm not saying it's the most wholly engaging and essential of pictures, but this is a pretty good time all the same.

To repeat myself a bit, the contributions of all those behind the scenes are terrific. Costume design, hair and makeup work, effects practical and digital, props and weapons, set design and decoration, lighting, and all other such elements are superb; the facilities of the mining operation are a feast for the eyes. Direction, cinematography, editing, and the fundamentals of film-making are tight, with fine production values. There are recognizable names and faces among the ensemble, and I think everyone on hand gives swell performances.

More substantively, I think the screenplay is pretty capable in general. Characters and dialogue sometimes leave a bit to be desired, but the narrative is pretty strong, even if it's familiar in broad strokes. The scene writing is the best part of David Peoples and Jeb Stuart's contribution, with light humor in the suitable exposition that quickly gives way to growing mystery and mounting horror. And that's really the key: one could assess every little aspect day in and day out, but at the end of the day the real question is how effectively the sci-fi horror is realized - and in my opinion it's splendidly strong in 'Leviathan.' Yes, one can immediately discern clear inspiration from very famous previous titles, in multiple instances to the point of pure mimicry. That's a sure mark against this, but taken in and of itself the marine monster movie is stimulating and satisfying. The picture is filled with tinges of body horror, flashes of action-horror, and an abundance of creature feature fun. All the blood and gore, prosthetics, and fabricated creature effects are outstanding; for the strength of these alone I'd say 'Leviathan' is worth watching.

What it all comes down to for me is that by and large I think this is perfectly entertaining, with fantastic exploration of what sci-fi horror could be in the underwater setting. While it's imperfect in the first place, the biggest limiting factor is simply how how the picture undeniably borrows. If you've seen John Carpenter's 'The thing,' and if you've seen Ridley Scott's 'Alien,' then there's no small amount of George P. Cosmatos' 'Leviathan' that's going to feel recycled. It looks, sounds, and feels good, but the comparisons are so significant that they distinctly distract and detract from the viewing experience. I suppose on that note that the good news is, if you're approaching this with virginal eyes, it's going to be better still. For whatever issues it may bear, though, this is still a flick that's a sturdy recommendation for fans of the cast, and for the genre overall. So long as you don't mind abject parroting, 'Leviathan' is satisfyingly enjoyable, and not a bad way to spend 100 minutes.

In the Atlantic Ocean, 16,000 feet deep, the Tri Oceanic Mining Corporation keeps a eight-men crew with the mission of extracting silver and other precious metals. The geologist and leader Steven Beck (Peter Weller) works with Dr. Glen 'Doc' Thompson (Richard Crenna) managing the miners astronaut wannabe Elizabeth 'Willie' Williams (Amanda Pays), the prankster Buzz 'Sixpack' Parrish (Daniel Stern), Justin Jones (Ernie Hudson), Tony 'DeJesus' Rodero (Michael Carmine), Bridget Bowman (Lisa Eilbacher) and G. P. Cobb (Hector Elizondo). He is also the liaison with the Tri Oceanic executive Ms. Martin (Meg Foster).

In their next to last day, Willie and Sixpack are assigned to work outside the base and Sixpack falls in a hole. Willie seeks him out and finds a Russian vessel named Leviathan. Sixpack finds a safe inside the vessel and brings it to their base. They find money, vodka, a videotape and documents and Beck keeps the content of the safe. However Sixpack steals a bottle of vodka and drinks with Bowman. Meanwhile Beck and Doc watch the videotape and the Russian Captain explains a problem that killed his crew. On the next morning, Sixpack does not feel well and stays in the sickbay. Soon Doc learns that his patient has a genetic mutation. When Bowman shows the same symptoms, Beck asks Ms. Martin to rescue them. But there is a hurricane on the surface and the rescuing mission is not possible.

"Leviathan" is an Alien rip-off underwater, but it is nostalgic to see this movie in the present days to admire the excellent cast in the late 80's. The lovely Amanda Pays shines with her beauty and is always good to see the eyes of Meg Foster. Peter "Robocop" Weller, Richard Creena and Hector Elizondo, all of them in good shape, is another attraction. Another good point is the special effect with the monsters, usual in the 80's and 90's and different from the exaggeration of the CGI in the present days. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Leviathan"

Note: On 11 July 2023, I saw this film again.

This movie is always going to be compared to Deep Star Six and The Abyss, because all three films came out at the same time. It is an underwater "Alien" movie, but it doesn't rip off The Abyss, which came out third of the three and none of them did any real business.

Anyway, this movie was one of those films that is engrossing in the theater and transfers very poorly to television and video. I would venture a guess that a wide-screen DVD version may be able to pick-up most of the considerable detail that was placed into this film. The acting is not awful and the story is well-paced, which is a step ahead of the other two 1989 underwater movies. This isn't Shakespere folks, so don't expect it. A little more polish to the script would have helped this movie greatly, but it is a fairly B horror flick so it was expected.

The cast is Weller, Hudson, Crenna, and Pays doing their things. They don't exactly phone it in, but they aren't expected to deliver that many lines convincingly anyway. Whatever happened to Amanada Pays? After seeing this I thought she had a chance to break through, but instead she disappeared.

The setting and special effects are the keys to this one, though. Visually, it is as tough as they come. Like I wrote before, stick to the DVD version, because I already know the VHS version stinks because it is so cloudy and out of focus. Watch the DVD and I can almost guarantee that you will find this movie to be better than you have been lead to believe by others.

Leviathan is one of those films that has "rip-off" written all over it.

Alot of it you've seen before in better films. The most obvious comparisons being Alien ( several isolated crew members, the dubious doctor, the suits etc.) and of course The Thing (a gooey monster spawned from human beings, it getting to the blood supply). I've viewed this one a few times and although it is an inferior movie it does have some pretty neat special effects, a recognizable cast and a decent music score by Jerry Goldsmith.

Not a total wet squib - it certainly has its moments. I'd give it 7/10.

Honestly, that's the line that seems to be running through Richard Crenna's mind throughout this flick. As if he can't imagine why he is in this pic.

Basically, Leviathan is probably the best of the '89 glut of aqua-horror-action movies. It's made on a decent budget (unlike DeepStar Six) and doesn't have bloated pretensions of greatness (unlike The Abyss). It's got a decent cast (hey, Hector Elizondo is a class act!) who seem to know they're not making a classic here, but are willing to give it their all for what is basically a cheesy horror flick.

The plot also seems to at least bother to explain itself (unlike DeepStar Six, there' s an explanation for the monster). The cast is likeable (Peter Weller's another can't-miss sort of actor). I wouldn't give it high marks, but it's competently done.

The first half of "Leviathan" is competently made and surprisingly absorbing, with strongly drawn characters and good acting all around. In the second half, the film degenerates into an "Alien" rip-off (and later on, it even steals a classic scene from "Jaws"), with derivative special effects and too many familiar elements. But it is saved (and gets 6/10) by Cosmatos' professionalism; he certainly redeems himself here for making the absolutely terrible "Cobra" three years earlier.

Leviathan is directed by George P. Cosmatos and then screenplay is written by David Webb Peoples & Jeb Stuart from Peoples' own story. It stars Peter Weller, Richard Crenna, Amanda Pays, Daniel Stern, Ernie Hudson, Michael Carmine, Lisa Eilbacher, Hector Elizondo & Meg Foster.

Let me start off by saying that the rating I have given is purely for personal reasons, I love daft creature features and rate them accordingly. Artistically the film scores about the average mark of 5/10, the acting, story and effects really don't demand much better unless you have got a soft spot for the genre. Tagged as Alien underwater, the film was always going to struggle to live up to that particular tag for sure, but yes, in structure that is what we get. A group of deep-sea miners come across a wrecked soviet ship and after plundering what they can they end up with more than they bargained for. Enter the plot of deep-sea miners under attack from a very bad and creepy monster. Will they survive? How did it happen? And on it goes to a joyously (unintentionally) funny finale. The film crams as many creature feature clichés in as it can get away with, and sure enough the boo jump scare moments are not in short supply.

The cast are all in on the joke (I'm pretty sure they are), so all in all you get a flipping great genre entry that isn't demanding much of the viewer, that is if you are so inclined to check the brain at the door first. So enjoy a B lister that has no pretensions other than to homage and entertain those of a certain persuasion. Quite a cast of pro actors assembled as well. 7/10

Let me save you the trouble with no spoilers: this is essentially "Alien" underwater. That's it. A-list cast, but you've seen this all before, and better. In the movie "Alien". Or the original "The Thing".

"The Abyss" was bloated and sometimes preachy but FAR superior using the setting to generate suspense and tension

Watch Alien to see this done right or even the sequel Aliens. This is a bad knockoff, even with the good cast and impressive sets. In this movie they rip off both those movies shamelessly, as well as "The Thing". I'm surprised nobody yells out "Game over, man!! Game over!" It's that ridiculous.

Leviathan (1989) is my personal favorite film it is an underrated creature film from the 80's starring Peter Weller (RoboCop) and directed by George P. Cosmatos who directed my all time favorite classic sequel Rambo: First Blood Part II and he later worked with Stallone again on Cobra (1986) my two favorite movies. So Leviathan become one of my all time favorite classic creature films and I love this movie to death! I wish they would make more movies like this to day and it is really a shame because special effects that time in the 80's were really good.

Stan Winston's creations, while on a second-tier level to some of his other work, are still shudder-worthy. Jerry Goldsmith's score is quite effective and it provides more prestige than this B-movie probably deserves.

Leviathan was worth the hassle of those repeat visits to the rental store. The movie transcends its derivative plot structure ("John Carpenter's The Thing wins an ocean vacation and pretends to be Ridley Scott's Alien.") A lot of people are complying that the movie was a rip off Ridley Scott's Alien and John Carpenter's The Thing I personally enjoy it every time I watch the movie. I had an identical experience with Leviathan's underwater monster counterpart The Abyss and DeepStar Six the movie I watched previous month and I thought the movie was a boring, lame a time waster and identical copy of this movie.

Plot: Underwater deep-sea miners encounter a Soviet wreck and bring back a dangerous cargo to their base on the ocean floor with horrifying results. The crew of the mining base must fight to survive against a genetic mutation that hunts them down one by one.

I love the cast, I love the set, production design, the story and the plot, the horror and action. I do enjoy the creature effects, a lot of people don't care about the creature effects, I disagree. The music score is beautiful, the film goes fast paced around, I am never bored with it. The acting from all the actors are good and enjoyable.

All the people that were involved with this film are no longer with us anymore. R.I.P. George P. Cosmatos, Stan Winston, Jerry Goldsmith, Michael Carmine and Richard Crenna. It is really a shame that they are no longer with us anymore.

We have the cast that I love: Peter Weller (RoboCop 1, 2), Richard Crenna (Rambo Trilogy), Amanda Pays (The Flash), Daniel Stern (Home Alone 1, 2, Bushwhacked), Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters 1,2), Lisa Eilbacher (Beverly Hills Cop), Hector Elizondo (Beverly Hills Cop III) and Meg Foster (They Live).

Peter Weller is believable as the calm-mannered supervisor who must maintain a cool head while managing any potentially volatile problems with the crew in an enclosed location where the slightest mistake could have deadly consequences. Amanda Pays, who was the ultimate object of infatuation for nerdy guys like me who enjoyed the The Flash TV series in the 90's and I still do enjoy her in the new Flash, is gorgeous and cool in Leviathan as a mining operative who plans to begin astronaut training after her undersea duty, and this role cements my opinion of her as one of the top 10 most beautiful women of the 1980s. Richard Crenna, excels as the seemingly-shady doctor who, like Ash in Ridley Scott's Alien, may or may not have an agenda all his own. Ernie Hudson and Daniel Stern lend some needed personality and levity to the equation. Lisa Eilbacher is competent in her role that provides one of Leviathan's most unsettling moments.

Leviathan is a 1989 Italian-American science fiction horror film directed by George P. Cosmatos and written by David Webb Peoples and Jeb Stuart.

Such negatives are distracting. Your ability to ignore such distractions will ultimately determine if you give this a 5 or a 9. Were it a little more humane as it stands, I give it a 10 because It is one of my favorite movies and it is very underrated.

The Thing, but underwater and not nearly as tense or atmospheric. Extra points for having Marv from Home Alone in it though lmao.

Also really enjoyed the male lead. I felt a bit like the fact that this film was released the same year as The Abyss was a little sus, but honestly they do have their difference. Gotta love a group of working class heroes trying not to be murdered by aliens.

However, that is not to say that it isn't entertaining, because it is. The film is about a group of undersea miners who discover a Soviet wreck. The wreck contains a potion that of course, one of the crew members has to drink. The potion turns out to be a formula that turns people into reptile like monsters that will eventually spread their symptoms to everybody else on board.

We have seen this all before. The Thing, the Alien series, The Deep, etc all have one idea or another that were thrown into this film. You have got the creature that takes over people's bodies(Alien, The Thing), the blood supply being depleted by the creature(The Thing), the remainder of the crew trying to escape the ship in a limited amount of time before it self destructs(Alien), and the scene where all of the guys are sitting around eating, talking about sex and other things(Alien).

This movie could have been a lot better if they had thrown something original into it. Why not use more comic relief? That may have spiced up the film a bit. However, the film is not that bad and if you cannot find anymore decent sci-fi horror films to view, this one may just be up your alley.

An interesting case for sci-fi fans and a missed opportunity for the director, having a generally decent cast, a sufficient budget and a story, let's say 'not overused enough for that time'. The totally obvious Alien rip-off is technically surprisingly well executed and pleases with almost top notch set designs and very good creature effects. Now that all this didn't make an absolutely satisfying, or actually even really good sci-fi movie can be blamed on the lack of tight pacing in the script, occasionally bad editing or I guess generally the rather inconsistent lead of George P. Cosmatos, resulting uncalled-for moments of amateur filmmaking entering into a movie otherwise to be taken serious. These then start accumulating and gradually getting out of control as the movie gains speed (among others resulting conversations on the subjects of popcorn and puzzles) and then ultimately explode into a 5 minute orgy of total C-Movie crap, actually even added after the anyways forgettable climax of the movie (how the hell did that happen by the way?). Otherwise, we can say, that the first 2/3rd of the movie is pretty okay, not counting a few minor downers and then gradually messes up in the finale. In the end you decide weather it was worth watching or not. Though for genre fans I guess this is absolutely obligatory.

How can you go wrong with a Robocop, a Ghostbuster, a burglar from Home Alone, Pretty Woman and Axel Foley's personal assistants, and Richard Crenna????

Does it rip off Aliens? YES. Does it rip off The Thing? YES...but who really gives a rip?!?! It's just fun. Give me Stan Winston's practical effects any day too!

I remember going to the theatres when it came out, but I think I enjoyed it even more watching it 35 years later in retrospect. The stars and dialogue from the 80's was delightfully nostalgic. Grab the popcorn and go to town.

The kids might not get it, but if you were a product of the times, give it a rewatch!

Of the numerous monster-at-sea movies to have been made - and it's a big list that includes the good (THE ABYSS, DEEP STAR SIX), the not-so-good (THE RIG) and the plain crazy/awful (CREATURES FROM THE ABYSS), LEVIATHAN is probably the best of the bunch. When it comes down to it, it's a shameless rip-off of both ALIEN and THE THING, but when the production values and calibre of the cast are all so strong it's pretty hard to go wrong.

Veteran director George Pan Cosmatos (RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II) handles the directorial chores in this tale of an undersea base at the mercy of a sinister Russian creature which has the ability to infect those who come into contact with it. A cast of somewhat clichéd characters are thus forced to fight for their lives against the unknown menace, and there's plenty of horror, both in the form of icky effects and more unsettling suspense scenarios.

Cast-wise, we're treated to ROBOCOP's Peter Weller as the stalwart captain of the crew, and the ever-great Richard Crenna as the doctor, who plays probably the most interesting - and morally ambiguous - character. Amanda Pays and Lisa Eilbacher are easy on the eye as the female crew members, and there's an average-sized past for the ever-underused Ernie Hudson (GHOSTBUSTERS) as the token black guy. Watch out for Daniel Stern (VERY BAD THINGS) as a slobbish character, Hector Elizondo (PRETTY WOMAN) as another expendable and she of the glowing eyes, Meg Foster (THEY LIVE), as the stock corporate villain.

LEVIATHAN will win no awards for originality, but I liked it well enough. The pacing is strong, the deaths are well handled, and there's just the right among of gore without it feeling excessive. In addiction, the sticky special effects bring just the right level of eye-popping spectacle to the production. For reasons unknown I'm a huge fan of this underwater sub-genre, and LEVIATHAN just might be the best of the bunch.

A deep sea mining team discover a sunken ship and they bring back some cargo from it- but after bringing it aboard one by one the crew becomes contaminated from some strange under-water organism.

This film is nothing but an 'Alien', 'The Thing' and you can kind of add 'the Abyss' hybrid, ripping off the plot of 'alien' and the special effects and monster design from the 'the thing'- but this time its not set in space or on ice but actually under water. It was not the only under-water feature film to come out that year but also 'the abyss' and 'deepstar six'… with it sharing more common ground with the latter.

I'm not really a fan of under-water features; 'The Abyss' was pretentiously over blown and dull, 'Sphere' *Yawn*, 'The Deep' was sleep inducing and 'DeepStar Six' was *hmm* fair- but still irritable. Well though this was an under-water film and basically a rip-off of two great films, it actually isn't that bad- because of a pretty good cast involving Peter Weller, Ernie Hudson, Daniel Stern, Richard Crenna and Amanda Pays and the wonderfully realistic special effects truly pack a wallop and a pretty bizarre- but decent monster design from Stan Winston.

It does have a very slow opening- but the characters themselves make up for it, though they might be cliché ridden, like the joker, cool headed leader, mischievousness doctor, token smart-ass black guy, the edgy and unstable guy, the young go-getter and the strong willed female- but at least they were likable and compelling and that's because of some good performances and a witty script, than that of the similar monster film 'DeepStar six'.

The slow first half makes way for an adrenaline pack second half where the tensity mounts, there are some tense and very claustrophobic scenes that keep you on edge- but overall the film mostly lacks surprise and does become predictable, especially if you've seen 'Alien' and 'The Thing'.

The monster itself looked quite astonishing... especially the change it goes through is truly mesmerising, even more then the finish product and a detail explanation of the monster's origin is a welcome change. The score is definitely one of the standouts by Jerry Goldsmith (who also did 'Alien'), who captures the alienation of the sea and the tension of the edgy situation that occurs. While the cinematography of the under-water mining base and the ocean floor is fairly eye-catching, as the look and setting of the film is vibrantly rich and engaging in detail.

This film can only be appreciated as nothing more than an unoriginal- but amusing rip-off. I for one enjoyed it for what it was.

3/5

Leviathan is one of those underwater scifi-movies wich were made 1989. Abyss was a success with all that fantasy it included, but Leviathan and for example Deepstar six never made it to the stars. It just wasn't the right moment. Leviathan was made with good budget, average actors(Peter Weller, Richard Crenna and so on) and with professional director(George P.Cosmatos, who made wonderful job in Tombstone 1993). So what went wrong? Personally I liked the movie, because it had a good plot, lots of action and little humour there and there. I liked it, let's see if you like it!

An undersea mining troop looking for precious minerals accidentally comes across a strange compound that mutates the genetic configuration of whoever touches it and forces them to battle their hideously-mutated friends to get away alive.

This wasn't all that bad at all and definitely has it's moments. During the later half, when the creature's loose and begins to hunt them down, it takes full effect of a perfect hunting ground for the creatures and lets them have some good moments in the stalking to derive some fine suspense, and the tactics of self-protection are certainly worthwhile, coming off as creative and logical and helping in the action nicely. This suffers from several problems however. The most notable is the film's reluctance to fully embrace the horror of the situation and trying to keep it as classy-looking as possible, from a lack of screen-time for the mutants to the near elimination of gore during the kills and keeping it looking classy instead of revealing in it's horror-based origins. Some pacing issues and a really contrived story are also to be worried about, but luckily the make-up effects, especially the final stage of the mutant when we do see the creature make-up for it, so overall, it's flawed but definitely watchable.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Brief Nudity

Steven (Peter Weller) is one of the employees of an underwater mining firm. Their headquarters is down deep in the ocean and the bosses are pretty interested in profits alone. One fateful day, as they say, the scuba diving crew stumbles across a sunken Soviet ship. During the investigation of the vessel, one of the divers almost dies when his equipment malfunctions. Our hero Steven saves him. But, soon after the workers leave the USSR boat, some begin to have strange symptoms. A lady is so overcome with pain and itching that she commits suicide. Another has a fever and so on. The firm's on-site physician, Doc (Richard Crenna) detects that the DNA of one of afflicted patients is "changing". Sure enough, soon an Alien-type monster takes over his body and the whole company is fighting for their lives, as more folks experience the same "thing", haha. Can Steven figure out how to rescue the remaining employees and, hopefully, kill the lethal Leviathan? As happens so often, Hollywood scores a hit, like Alien or The Abyss, and gets the idea that more of the same is what viewers want. Unfortunately, this film presents nothing new or exciting to the original works. It is basically ultra-lite James Cameron and, therefore, is very disappointing. Even the last line is a direct rip-off of the final exclamation from The Terminator flick! Its only redeeming quality is the fine cast. Weller is one handsome lad and makes a great hero. Crenna, Amanda Pays, Ernie Hudson, and all of the others do their best and deserve so much better. All right, the underwater shots are fairly nice, too. If you love cinematic science fiction, in a "let's make fun of it" way, a la Mystery Science Theater, you might look for this one at the usual outlets. Otherwise, any view will make you feel as bad as one of the monster's victims.