Deep Evil

Science Fiction

Peacock Films

R4 DVD

This very low-budget film is a clone of just about every other escaped-alien-in-a-secret-laboratory film you have ever seen. In spite of that, it’s not too bad. Although the plot is riddled with clichés the acting is good, the cinematography is quite decent and the special effects are excellent.

In the 1950s a meteorite landed in Russia. It contained a droplet of water that turned out to be an alien lifeform that is so dangerous it could only be stopped by dropping an atomic bomb on the lab. The U.S. got hold of some and are now repeating the same mistakes in a secret lab in Alaska. The alien has got loose and is eating the scientists, as they do. Before she was ingested one scientist managed to lock down the laboratory. Now the traditional crack military team (read “cannon fodder”) and pair of stroppy scientists has been sent to sort out the problem and gather a sample of the “water”. Having been well-fed on plump scientists the alien lifeform has now grown and moved on to its next and unsuspected form.

The team soon finds out that the “water” can form replicas of lifeforms based on the DNA it has ingested so the team has to fight off hordes of mutant spiders and zombie-style aliens, based on the scientists it has eaten. The lifeform is also highly contagious. If it escapes outside the lab it will exterminate every living thing it touches. Yes, it’s The End Of Civilisation.

Apart from the zombie-like scientists the alien special effects are effective. Much of the film is shot in bright light, not the dark underlit sets favoured by too many directors. I didn’t have to strain my eyes trying to see what was going on in the dark.

Although the film will not compete with Alien for sheer terror, I quite enjoyed it.

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