“The Abyss”: One of James Cameron’s Most Underrated Films
- Matt Palmer
- Jul 29, 2025
- 3 min read
Throughout the month of August (and maybe the first edition of September), I plan on checking out some popular films that had a summer release date. So, to kick things off, I wanted to check out a James Cameron film that I had on my radar for years - “The Abyss” (initial release date August 9, 1989).
Virgil “Bud” Brigman and Lindsey Brigman are formerly married petroleum engineers who still have some issues to work out.
They are drafted to assist a gung-ho Navy SEAL with a top-secret recovery operation: a nuclear sub has been ambushed and sunk, under mysterious circumstances, in some of the deepest waters on Earth.
James Cameron’s 1989 film “The Abyss” delivers amazingly beautiful special effects and is a gripping, claustrophobic thriller that is a must see! While there are two versions of this film - the theatrical cut and director’s cut (which is said to be superior) - I checked out the theatrical cut.
“The Abyss” does an astounding job combining elements of science fiction, thriller, action and just a touch of the disaster genre. During the first half of the movie, we get introduced to the team of Navy SEALs to investigate and retrieve the sub’s nuclear warheads. Throughout the first half, tensions begin to rise from both the Navy SEALs and the crew of the oil-drilling platform as everyone’s trying to figure out what’s going on.
The suspense during the first half quickly builds as the crew begins to witness a strange light phenomena and encounter an ethereal creature. And, honestly, the special effects for the alien lights and the alien creature is just astounding and still holds up really well today!
We see the tensions build up majorly throughout the rest of the film as everyone realizes that the creature is from out of this world. A lot of the characters become majorly paranoid, which actually embodies the film’s central theme of facing the unknown.
The underwater sequences that are shown throughout a lot of the film are simply amazing to look at. The underwater setting, with its murky depths and confined spaces, creates heightened tension and a slight case of claustrophobia. Also, the early CGI effects of the alien life-forms, particularly the infamous “water tentacle” scene that features the sentient water probe, is honestly some of the best visual effects ever.
Surprisingly, this film didn’t become as big of a success like some of Cameron’s other films during the 80s, such as “Aliens” and “The Terminator.” Over time, “The Abyss” has gained a cult following and is considered to be one of James Cameron’s most underrated films.
“The Abyss” is rated PG-13 and has a runtime of 140 minutes. You can stream this James Cameron film on Hulu and Disney Plus!
The next release released during the summer season that I will be checking out is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year - the 1985 smash hit “Back to the Future.”
Ed Harris reportedly punched James Cameron in the face after he kept filming while he was nearly drowning.
During the rigorous and problematic shoot, the cast and crew began calling the film by various derogatory names such as "Son Of Abyss", "The Abuse" and "Life's Abyss And Then You Dive". Director James Cameron said that he got so tired from working 6 days a week, 10 hours a day (sometimes more) that he would sometimes fall asleep during dinner in bed, waking up in the morning with a half-eaten plate on his chest and clenching a fork in his hand. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio reportedly suffered a physical and emotional breakdown because she was pushed so hard on the set, and Ed Harris had to pull over his car at one time while driving home, because he burst into spontaneous crying.
Very few scenes involved stunt people. When Bud drags Lindsey back to the rig, that's really Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio holding her breath. When the rig is being flooded and characters are running from water, drowning behind closed doors, and dodging exploding parts of the rig, those are all actors, not stunt people.
One of the first films to make proper use of CGI technology, which were done by George Lucas's special effects company Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). The animated water effects would be put to use in James Cameron's next film Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), to create the liquid Terminator, the T-1000.
According to a behind the scenes interview with special fx crew member Steve Johnson, the angelic alien creatures and their bio-luminescent bodies are based on a deep sea jellyfish that "lights up like Vegas."
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