Sea Fever, Movie Review

Neasa Hardiman's Sea Fever is an occupying monster movie flaunting its love for iconic sci-fi/horror films such as Alien and The Thing.

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Sea Fever is an occupying monster movie flaunting its love for iconic sci-fi/horror films such as Alien and The Thing, placing the predictable yet frightening parasitic premise on a ship deep in the Atlantic. But before you begin to dismiss it, writer/director Neasa Hardiman is not wasting your time with something you have seen before. Should her story be more feverish? Yeah, I will give you that. Even so, she’s diving deep into a thriller that’s not only unsettling and smart, but terrifyingly timely.

Hermione Corfield plays Siobhán, a marine biology student working on her doctorate who doesn’t have a lot of friends. Maybe that will change as she becomes a temporary crew member of the Niamh Cinn-Óir, a fishing trawler captained by a married couple named Gerard and Freya (Dougray Scott and Connie Nielsen). Unfortunately, it doesn’t start off well as Siobhán’s red hair isn’t a lucky charm in the high seas profession. The good news is her specialty is studying underwater behavior, and she’s going to get more than she can handle.

Things don’t take long to get creepy as a huge red blob shows up on the radar – and it’s coming in hot. The boat is rocked, the radio is out and no one is going anywhere. Siobhán jumps in to explore what has a hold on the ship. What she sees can only be explained as a gigantic squid with neon light tentacles, and those snake-like limbs are latched on tight. This isn’t the catch these fishermen are looking for. The horror doesn’t stop on the outside of the Niamh Cinn-Óir. There’s a mysterious, slimy blue gel seeping in and it’s quite contagious. Some serious social distancing needs to happen.

This is where Sea Fever cautiously navigates through the waves of familiar waters. The usual testing and figuring out what is feeding on the watercraft and its platoon and how to fight it is a must. They also notice another boat, but what is found ain’t good. The audience knows this serves as a warning for what’s coming for Siobhán and the rest of the team. I believe scenes like these are required in this genre.

Then, when you least expect it, quarantine enters the equation to stop the spread of a lethal infection. Sound familiar? It’s a terror we have come to know all too well. To protect all on land, no one can leave the ship for 36 hours. For anyone showing symptoms, their eyes are a dead giveaway, then the fever kicks in. Spoiler alert: the recovery rate is 0%.

Space and setting play a huge part in Sea Fever staying afloat on jolts and jitters. Same can be said for a convincing cast, lead by a practical performance from Corfield. And due to impeccable timing, Hardiman’s sinister sea story of dread, paranoia and pandemic gets under your skin like never before.

Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.

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