Deep Blue Sea (1999) on Netflix
R19991h 45mActionSci-FiThriller
Dr. Susan McAlester and Dr. Jim Whitlock seek a cure for Alzheimer's in mako sharks at Aquatica, their undersea lab. After a shark escapes, backers send Russell Franklin to investigate.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.0/10153,200 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes60%
Trailer
Plot summary
Aquatica is an undersea research lab, where Dr. Susan McAlester and Dr. Jim Whitlock study mako sharks. Because sharks do not lose brain activity as they age, the two believe a protein complex from shark brains could reactivate dormant human brain cells and lead to a cure for Alzheimer's, the disease that killed Susan's father. Investors led by Russell Franklin fund the work and grow impatient with its pace, especially after a shark escapes and attacks young people on a boat. Russell gives Susan forty-eight hours and visits Aquatica to see how his money is spent. Susan skips protocol and genetically re-engineers three mako sharks to enlarge their brains. The weekend crew aboard includes shark expert Carter Blake, engineer Tom Scoggins, marine biologist Janice Higgins, meteorologist Brenda Kerns and cook Sherman "Preacher" Dudley.
Cast
- Daniel Reyas Helicopter Pilot (as Daniel Bahimo Rey)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Deep Blue Sea (1999)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
SPOILER
The film's ending was changed shortly before its theatrical release: originally Saffron Burrows' character, Susan McAlester, escaped from the shark and lived, but this angered test audiences who had not forgotten she was responsible, so the team did a one-day reshoot in the Universal Studios tank.SPOILER
Jackson was initially offered the role of Preacher, but his management team did not like the idea of him playing a cook, so Harlin created the character of Russell Franklin for him; Preacher was supposed to die early on, but Harlin kept him and he ends up being one of only two survivors.- After the studio shoot wrapped, Harlin insisted the team go to the Bahamas to shoot with real sharks; Jane said that on the second day they swam him 30 feet down and a man yanked the breather off him while "the water's churning with blood and guts".
- As the shark used in Jaws was 25 feet long, Harlin decided to increase their animatronic shark to 26 feet; Jackson recalled that the cast were in awe of the size of the machine, saying "The gills moved, and it had a mind of its own sometimes."
- Deep Blue Sea was conceived by the Australian screenwriter Duncan Kennedy after he witnessed a "horrific" shark attack on a beach near his home, which caused a recurring nightmare in which he was "in a passageway with sharks that could read [his] mind".
