James Cameron’s ‘THE ABYSS’ Turns 35 – Retro Review

*Spoiler Warning* – The Abyss is 35 years old, so I’m going to assume if you’re reading this you’ve already seen it. If not, go do that now. Don’t worry, I’ll wait…

Now that you’ve had time to watch it and come back, I’m going to continue under the assumption that everyone reading this has seen the movie. If my discussion of it spoils anything, that’s on you. You were warned!

James Cameron’s The Abyss contains some of the most terrifying concepts I’ve ever encountered. Although I love the ocean and have never suffered from thalassophobia (fear of deep water), The Abyss gave me plenty of other water-related reasons to panic. Despite not really being considered a horror movie, it is still the scariest movie I think I’ve ever seen. 

Synopsis

A civilian diving team is enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and faces danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.

James Cameron’s The Abyss was released 35 years ago, in August of 1989. The film was both written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Ed Harris as Virgil “Bud” Brigman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as his estranged wife Lindsey Brigman, and Michael Biehn as the ill-fated Lieutenant Coffey. 

Of all the films I’ve watched in my life, and it’s too many to count, The Abyss is unparalleled in the amount of terror it instilled. First, there is the simple fear of being trapped. This crew is stuck in an underwater habitat on the ocean floor and cut off from contact with the surface. They are a LONG way down. Attempting to escape by swimming to the surface would likely result in death due to pressure changes. It is an absolute nightmare scenario for me to consider being trapped in such a way. 

As if simply being trapped isn’t frightening enough, The Abyss takes it even further. These people are not only trapped, but one of them is losing his mind from the effects of the high pressure environment. Like the guy in every zombie movie who tries to hide the fact that he’s been bitten, Lieutenant Coffey notices symptoms of High Pressure Neurosis Syndrome early on, but hides it. He becomes increasingly paranoid and unhinged, culminating in a battle to the death over control of a nuclear warhead. He manages to send it down the nearby trench, the titular abyss, leading Bud Brigman to take some pretty extreme measures in an attempt to save the alien race residing at the bottom of the aforementioned trench. 

It is at this point that The Abyss takes me from regular, garden-variety dread to white-knuckled panic. Due to the extreme depth of the trench, which is previously mentioned to be “two and a half miles straight down,” it is inadvisable to descend into it with a standard, air-filled dive helmet. We saw the potential consequences of doing so in the spectacularly explosive, or more accurately, implosive, death of Lieutenant Coffey.

Bud can only possibly succeed in his mission by wearing a suit and helmet filled with an oxygenated liquid. He has to BREATHE liquid! Watching the helmet fill with the viscous-looking pinkish fluid never fails to clench my hands unconsciously into fists. Even thinking about it makes me extremely uneasy. This scene will forever live rent-free in my head. It is, unequivocally, the most terrifying film scene I can recall ever seeing. 

Final Thoughts

James Cameron really knows how to make a great movie. I could go on forever about The Abyss, but I won’t subject you to anymore of my ramblings about it. Consider this your sign to give this epic classic a re-watch. What are you waiting for? Incredible movies don’t turn 35 every day you know. 

After years of only being available in standard definition, The Abyss is available now on physical media and digital platforms in 4K UHD!