Deep Blue Sea (film series)

Last updated
Deep Blue Sea
Deep Blue Sea logo.jpg
Official film series logo
Based on Deep Blue Sea
by Duncan Kennedy, Donna Powers & Wayne Powers
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
1999–2020
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Deep Blue Sea film series consists of American science fiction natural-horror films, centered around genetically enhanced-sharks. The overall plot of the series centers around scientific studies conducted by marine biologists. These experiments provide the predatory animals with heightened intelligence, inadvertently causing the sharks to attack the underwater facilities and hunt the researchers that created them. Director Renny Harlin had become well known for bringing stylish action sequences into his films, but he also was noted for pushing the boundaries of effects work. This was evident in his earliest forays into horror with A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master . For Deep Blue Sea, Harlin employed animatronics wizard Walt Conti and his company Edge Innovations (which previously worked on Anaconda ), to create the most lifelike on-screen shark puppets at that point in time.

Contents

The first film was released in theaters in 1999 and was a box office success, though it received mixed reviews from film critics. Over time Deep Blue Sea has been labeled a cult classic by audience and critics alike. [1] [2] [3] [4] After years of being in development hell, a sequel was released straight-to-home video and VOD services in 2018. While initially debuting at No. 8 on the Top 20 Sellers for the week ended April 21, 2018 and being on-par with theatrical releases, [5] [6] Deep Blue Sea 2 was panned by critics. [7] Deep Blue Sea 3 was released on July 28, 2020 through video on demand.

Films

FilmU.S. release dateDirectorScreenwriter(s)Story byProducer(s)
Deep Blue Sea July 28, 1999 Renny Harlin Donna Powers, Wayne Powers & Duncan KennedyAlan Riche, Tony Ludwig and Akiva Goldsman
Deep Blue Sea 2 April 17, 2018Darin ScottJessica Scott, Hans Rodionoff & Erik Patterson Hans RodionoffTom Siegrist
Deep Blue Sea 3 July 28, 2020 John Pogue Dirk BlackmanHunt Lowry and Patty Reed

Deep Blue Sea (1999)

On an island research facility, Dr. Susan McAlester is conducting experiments to cure Alzheimer's disease, by harvesting the brain tissue of DNA-altered mako sharks. When the facility's benefactors send a company executive to investigate the under-water facility, a routine procedure is disrupted after a shark attacks the researchers.

During the attack the protective glass, keeping the ocean outside of the building, is fractured. As the security systems begins to enter lockdown as a safety procedure, the enhanced sharks make their way into the outpost with the incoming water. Now, with sharks outnumbering their human captors, McAlester and her team must figure out a way to stop the hyper-intelligent sharks from escaping to the ocean, which would lead to the altered species reproducing. Together the group fights for survival, racing against the clock, while being hunted by the predatory animals. [8]

Deep Blue Sea 2 (2018)

A shark conservation biologist named Dr. Misty Calhoun, is hired in a consultory position for a non-public confidential project involving genetically-enhanced bull sharks. Funded by a pharmaceutical billionaire with questionable ethics, the mogul plans to medically market intelligence. During a routine procedure, the sharks begin attacking the researchers and initiate security shutdown, causing mass flooding throughout the establishment. As the scientists fight for survival and race to the surface, the enhanced-sharks begin to hunt them. [9] [10]

Deep Blue Sea 3 (2020)

In August 2019, it was announced that a third film tentatively titled Deep Blue Sea 3 was in development, with intentions to serve as a Netflix exclusive film. [11] [12] By May 2020, it was revealed that the film had finished production within the last year, with principal photography taking place in Cape Town of the Republic of South Africa. John Pogue serves as director, with a script by Dirk Blackman, while Hunt Lowry and Patty Reed serve as producers. [13] [14] [15] [16]

The plot centers around Dr. Emma Collins, who leads a team at a small island studying the effects of climate change on great white sharks. The study is disrupted when her marine biologist ex-boyfriend named Richard arrives, searching for some enhanced-bull sharks. The film attained an R rating for "violence, bloody images, and language". The project was distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. The film was released on July 28, 2020[ needs update ] on video on demand, and on August 25, 2020[ needs update ] for home video. [1] [17]

Main cast and characters

CharacterFilms
Deep Blue Sea Deep Blue Sea 2 Deep Blue Sea 3
199920182020
Dr. Susan McAlester Saffron Burrows  
Carter Blake Thomas Jane  
Russell Franklin Samuel L. Jackson  
Dr. Jim Whitlock Stellan Skarsgård  
Janice "Jan" Higgins Jacqueline McKenzie  
Tom Scoggins Michael Rapaport  
Sherman "Preacher" Dudley LL Cool J  
Brenda Kerns Aida Turturro  
Dr. Misty Calhoun  Danielle Savre  
Trent Slater  Rob Mayes  
Carl Durant  Michael Beach  
Aaron Ellroy Nathan Lynn 
Leslie Kim Kim Syster 
Daniel Kim Jeremy Jess Boado 
Josh Hooper Cameron Robertson 
Dr. Emma Collins  Tania Raymonde
Richard  Nathaniel Buzolic
Eugene Shaw Emerson Brooks
Lucas  Bren Foster

Additional crew and production details

FilmCrew/Detail
ComposerCinematographerEditor(s)Production companiesDistributing companiesRunning time
Deep Blue Sea Trevor Rabin Stephen F. Windon Dallas Puett, Derek Brechin & Frank J. Urioste Warner Bros. Pictures
Riche-Ludwig Productions
Village Roadshow Pictures
Groucho III Film Partnership
Warner Bros. Pictures105 minutes
Deep Blue Sea 2 Sean Murray Thomas L. Callaway Michael Trent Syfy Original Films
Warner Bros. Pictures
Syfy
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
94 minutes
Deep Blue Sea 3 Mark KillianSven VoslooEric StrandRoserock FilmsWarner Bros. Home Entertainment99 minutes

Reception

Box office

FilmBox office grossBox office rankingVideo sales grossGross running incomeBudgetRef.
North AmericaOther territoriesWorldwideAll time North AmericaAll time worldwideNorth America
Deep Blue Sea $73,648,228$91,400,000$165,048,228#1,104#1,037information not available$165,048,228$60,000,000 [18] [19]
Deep Blue Sea 2 $1,641,517$1,641,517information not available [20]
Deep Blue Sea 3 $653,537$653,537information not available [21]
Totals$73,648,228$91,400,000$165,048,228x̅ #1,104x̅ #1,037>$2,295,054>$167,343,282>$60,000,000

Critical and public response

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
Deep Blue Sea60% (115 reviews) [22] 54/100 (22 reviews) [23] B [24]
Deep Blue Sea 20% (5 reviews) [25]
Deep Blue Sea 373% (15 reviews) [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renny Harlin</span> Finnish film director and film producer

Renny Harlin is a Finnish film director, producer, and screenwriter who has worked in Hollywood, Europe, and China. His best-known films include A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and Deep Blue Sea.

<i>Deep Blue Sea</i> (1999 film) 1999 film by Renny Harlin

Deep Blue Sea is a 1999 American science fiction horror film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport, and LL Cool J. It is the first film of the film series by the same name. Set in an isolated underwater facility, the film follows a team of scientists and their research on mako sharks to help fight Alzheimer's disease. The situation plunges into chaos when multiple genetically engineered sharks go on a rampage and flood the facility.

<i>Jaws 3-D</i> 1983 American thriller film by Joe Alves

Jaws 3-D is a 1983 American horror film directed by Joe Alves and starring Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Simon MacCorkindale and Louis Gossett Jr. It is the second sequel to Steven Spielberg's Jaws and the third installment in the Jaws franchise. The film follows the Brody children from the previous films to SeaWorld, a Florida marine park with underwater tunnels and lagoons. As the park prepares for opening, a young great white shark infiltrates the park from the sea, seemingly attacking and killing the park's employees. Once the shark is captured, it becomes apparent that a second, much larger shark also entered the park and was the real culprit.

<i>Shark Attack</i> (film) 1999 TV series or program

Shark Attack is a 1999 television action thriller film by Lionsgate that first premiered on HBO directed by Bob Misiorowski and starring Casper Van Dien, Jenny McShane and Ernie Hudson. In a once tranquil African fishing village, a marine biologist searches for answers when his friend becomes a victim in a series of brutal shark attacks.

<i>DeepStar Six</i> 1989 American film by Sean S. Cunningham

DeepStar Six is a 1989 American science-fiction horror film directed and co-produced by Sean S. Cunningham. Its plot follows the crew of the titular underwater military outpost, who struggle to defend their base against the attacks of a sea monster. The film's cast includes Greg Evigan, Taurean Blacque, Nancy Everhard, Cindy Pickett, Miguel Ferrer, Nia Peeples, and Matt McCoy.

<i>WarGames: The Dead Code</i> 2008 American direct-to-video thriller film by Stuart Gillard

WarGames: The Dead Code is a 2008 American direct-to-video thriller film written by Randall Badat and Rob Kerchner and directed by Stuart Gillard. It is the sequel to the 1983 film WarGames. Production began on November 20, 2006, in Montreal, and the film was released on DVD on July 29, 2008, by MGM's home video distributor 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. According to MGM's original press release, the film is budgeted as one in a series of direct-to-DVD sequels.

<i>12 Rounds</i> (film) 2009 film by Renny Harlin

12 Rounds is a 2009 American action film directed by Renny Harlin and produced by WWE Studios. The cast is led by John Cena, alongside Aidan Gillen, Steve Harris, Gonzalo Menendez, Brian J. White, Ashley Scott, and Taylor Cole. The film was released to theaters in the United States on March 27, 2009.

<i>Jaws</i> (franchise) American film franchise

Jaws is an American natural horror film series that started with a 1975 film that expanded into three sequels, a theme park ride, and other tie-in merchandise, based on a 1974 novel. The main subject of the saga is a great white shark and its attacks on people in specific areas of the United States and The Bahamas. The Brody family is featured in all of the films as the primary antithesis to the shark. The original film was based on a novel written by Peter Benchley, which itself was inspired by the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916. Benchley adapted his novel, along with help from Carl Gottlieb and Howard Sackler, into the 1975 film Jaws, which was directed by Steven Spielberg. Although Gottlieb went on to pen two of the three sequels, neither Benchley nor Spielberg returned to the film series in any capacity.

<i>The Reef</i> (2010 film) Australian Horror film written and directed by Andrew Traucki

The Reef is a 2010 Australian survival horror film, written, directed and produced by Andrew Traucki in his second feature film. The film is about a group of friends who capsize while sailing to Indonesia and are stalked by a great white shark as they try to swim to a nearby island.

<i>Bait 3D</i> 2012 3D horror disaster film

Bait 3D is a 2012 3D horror disaster film directed by Kimble Rendall based on the screenplay by John Kim and Russell Mulcahy. It featured Sharni Vinson, Phoebe Tonkin, Xavier Samuel, Julian McMahon, Cariba Heine, Alex Russell, Lincoln Lewis, Alice Parkinson, and Dan Wyllie. The film centers around a group of people who try to escape a grocery store, submerged as a result of a freak tsunami, while being hunted by bloodthirsty great white sharks. The film was released on 20 September 2012 in Australia.

<i>The Meg</i> 2018 film by Jon Turteltaub

The Meg is a 2018 American science fiction action film directed by Jon Turteltaub from a screenplay by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber, loosely based on the 1997 novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror by Steve Alten. The film stars Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, and Cliff Curtis. In the plot, a group of scientists encounters a 75-foot-long (23 m) megalodon shark while on a rescue mission on the floor of the Pacific Ocean.

<i>47 Meters Down</i> 2017 survival horror film by Johannes Roberts

47 Meters Down is a 2017 survival horror film directed by Johannes Roberts, written by Roberts and Ernest Riera, and starring Claire Holt and Mandy Moore. The film uses the American spelling of the metric unit of measurement, elsewhere spelled as 'metre'. The plot follows two sisters who are invited to cage dive while on holiday in Mexico. When the winch system holding the cage breaks and the cage plummets to the ocean floor with the two girls trapped inside, they must find a way to escape, with their air supplies running low and great white sharks stalking nearby.

<i>Sharknado</i> (film series) American film series

Sharknado is a series of six American made-for-television science fiction action comedy horror disaster films released by Syfy between 2013 and 2018. It has since been expanded into video games and comics, including a spin-off film, Sharknado: Heart of Sharkness, that was released in 2015. The first two films received mixed to positive reviews from critics, while the others received negative reviews.

<i>Deep Blue Sea 2</i> 2018 film

Deep Blue Sea 2 is a 2018 American science fiction horror film directed by Darin Scott. It is a stand-alone sequel to the 1999 film Deep Blue Sea, and stars Danielle Savre, Michael Beach, and Rob Mayes. In the film, a shark conservationist is hired to consult on a top-secret project involving genetically enhanced bull sharks funded by a pharmaceutical billionaire. However, the highly intelligent super-sharks turn on their masters and begin to pick them off one by one. The film was released direct-to-video on April 17, 2018. It was followed by Deep Blue Sea 3.

<i>47 Meters Down: Uncaged</i> 2019 American survival horror film directed by Johannes Roberts

47 Meters Down: Uncaged is a 2019 survival horror film directed by Johannes Roberts and written by Roberts and Ernest Riera, and a sequel to 47 Meters Down (2017).

<i>Deep Blue Sea 3</i> 2020 science-fiction horror comedy film

Deep Blue Sea 3 is a 2020 American science fiction natural horror film, starring Tania Raymonde. Dr. Emma Collins and her team are on Little Happy Island studying the effect of climate change on great white sharks who come to the nearby nursery every year to give birth, their peaceful life is disrupted when a "scientific" team shows up looking for three bull sharks. It is the third and final installment of the Deep Blue Sea film series, and a direct sequel to Deep Blue Sea 2.

Hunt Lowry is an American film and TV producer, who has been involved with film production since the 1980s. He is the president and CEO of Roserock Films, a Warner Brothers in-house studio. He was also key to facilitating the development of Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi. He initially came to Los Angeles visiting a brother, but stayed and launched his production career. He is a graduate of the Casady School. He is the brother of Dick Lowry.

References

  1. 1 2 "Everything We Know About Deep Blue Sea 3". ScreenRant. May 23, 2020.
  2. "Deep Blue Sea Is Way More Entertaining Than It Has Any Right to Be".
  3. "Cult film Deep Blue Sea gets a sequel and you can watch the trailer for it here".
  4. Raftery, Brian (June 24, 2016). "Forget Jaws. The Real Shark Movie to Beat Is Deep Blue Sea" via www.wired.com.
  5. Latchem, John (April 27, 2018). "'The Commuter,' 'The Post' Bow in Top 5 on DVD, Blu-ray Disc Sales Charts".
  6. "Top 20 Sellers for Week Ended 04-21-18 – Media Play News".
  7. "'Deep Blue Sea 2' - The Terrible Shark Movie Sequel You Didn't Know Existed". August 12, 2018.
  8. Koehler, Robert (July 26, 1999). "Deep Blue Sea".
  9. Knight, Jacob (April 17, 2018). "DEEP BLUE SEA 2 Review: Sharks Are Never Boring". Birth.Movies.Death.
  10. "Deep Blue Sea 2 - Movie Review". www.commonsensemedia.org. April 25, 2018.
  11. "'Deep Blue Sea 3' Is Happening, May Swim Straight to Netflix". Movieweb. August 22, 2019.
  12. Miska, Brad (August 22, 2019). "There's a Third 'Deep Blue Sea' in the Works".
  13. "'Deep Blue Sea 3' Is Finished, Officially R-Rated and Coming Soon". Movieweb. May 13, 2020.
  14. Squires, John (May 13, 2020). "'Deep Blue Sea 3' is Swimming Our Way and It's Been Rated R for "Bloody Images"".
  15. "Deep Blue Sea 3". Production List | Film & Television Industry Alliance. September 23, 2019.
  16. "Hunt Lowry". Noovie.
  17. GRANT HERMANNS (June 17, 2020). "Warner Bros.' Deep Blue Sea 3 Coming to Shelves in August". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  18. "Deep Blue Sea (1999) - Financial Information". The Numbers . Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  19. "Deep Blue Sea". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  20. "Deep Blue Sea 2 (2018) - Financial Information". The Numbers .
  21. "Deep Blue Sea 3 (2020) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
  22. "Deep Blue Sea (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  23. "Deep Blue Sea". Metacritic .
  24. "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  25. "Deep Blue Sea 2 (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  26. "Deep Blue Sea 3 (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved June 27, 2023.