Virus (1999)
Director: John Bruno
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, Cliff Curtis
Primary genre: Science Fiction
Secondary genre: Horror
Forgotten and trashed, Virus should enjoy newfounded love in the 2020s. This solid sci-fi horror is what would have happened if Under Siege (1992) was a creature feature instead of a Die Hard (1988) rip off. Released around the same time as another (and far superior) aquatic horror (Renny Harlin’s Deep Blue Sea), here we don’t have genetically mutated sharks but an unknown lifeform of unspecified origin desiring to wipe out humanity within the bowels of a Russian ship. Such a tacky premise has capable cast members who either do their best (Jamie Lee Curtis, Cliff Curtis) or have stopped giving a flying f*** altogether (William Baldwin), in particular a sleepwalking Donald Sutherland.
In his directorial debut, special effects wiz John Bruno (Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Cliffhanger (1993), Titanic (1997)) is surprisingly good at creating dread especially in the first half and using a real ship helps too. It is only after the film reveals what has happened that it loses both its mystique and momentum, ending up as a less impactful clone of Stephen Sommers’ way more gruesome, scary, and fun Deep Rising (1998).
“Woods is wound so tight you couldn’t pull a pin outta his ass with a tractor.”
The pricy (at $75 million) special effects are top-notch including those veering into CGI territory backed by genuine imagination in the displayed animatronics amidst the repetitive cat-and-mouse set pieces between crew and creature. It is a shame then the same cannot be said for a script full of cliché roles (the easily scared character is named Squeaky for Christ’s sake!) that sprout banal verbal exchanges and follow genre tropes to the letter. Although Curtis is a pretty solid heroine, it is the other Curtis (Cliff that is) who plays a tough Maori guy who registers the most. In typical Hollywood 90s fashion though, he is sidelined in favor of the blunt and far less appealing American version (Baldwin).
Virus has a few ideas, and as a drifting-in-the-sea horror vehicle it is competently made. If it had stopped copying better movies, the results might have been more positive. Jamie Lee might think this is a stinker but 19 years is a lot of time to identify the film’s merits. Initially seen as something of the Deepstar Six (1989) caliber, Virus offers adequate thrills due to its generous budget even if it is a routine creature feature with no surprises.
C-list movie with A+ budget
+Great animatronics
+Solid first half
+Good cast
-Mediocre/embarrassing performances
-Not scary
-Weak aquatic horror