Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

SnoopyStyle Australian Naval officer John Ingram (Sam Neill) returns home to tragedy. His wife Rae (Nicole Kidman) was driving to pick him up when she crashed killing their infant son. After her recovery, they get away from the world by sailing a yacht. She is haunted by the loss. They encounter troubled Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane) rowing a boat over to them in the middle of the ocean. He claims his boat is adrift and the others dead. John is suspicious and rows over to the boat.It is a Hitchcockian thriller. There is great tension from the moment Billy Zane first step on their boat. He has great creepiness and danger. Sam Neill is a solid lead. It's the first movie that I saw Nicole Kidman in and she was a revelation. It's a sparse movie but deadly. There is a weird ending that is almost dreamlike in its unreal feel unlike the rest of the movie.

Leofwine_draca Despite its age, I still see DEAD CALM as a pretty definitive seafaring thriller. To be more precise, it's a psychological thriller, one of many that were all the rage back in the late '80s and early '90s: FATAL ATTRACTION kick-started the sub genre, and there were many interesting choices along the way. For me, the two pinnacles of the genre are this film and THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE.The plot is deceptively simple, making use of just three actors. There's a loving couple, traumatised by events of the recent past, and a mysterious stranger hiding dark secrets. What follows is a hold-your-breath tense thrill-ride packed with twists and life-or-death situations. I loved the eerily isolated backdrop and director Phillip Noyce – who's made a career of edgy, dark filmmaking – makes perfect use of a small yacht to imprison his lead characters. The acting is also fine, which is a plus as if it hadn't been this film would have lost a lot of its charisma. Sam Neill is the sterling, never-give-up hero, and Billy Zane excels as the genuinely frightening psychopath, always retaining a hint of sympathy about him. But the film belongs to Nicole Kidman, who stars as the grieving woman forced to become a warrior to save both her husband's life and her own.Although I'm not a big fan of Kidman, I believe this to be one of her best performances, and it's hard to fault. She's fragile and gutsy, weak and powerful, all in the same breath, and watching her cat-and-mouse antics with Zane is what suspenseful filmmaking is all about. DEAD CALM is a classic thriller thanks to its pure simplicity.

LeonLouisRicci Slightly Underrated and Highly Enjoyable Sea Going Thriller. Three Handsome Actors and the Deep Blue are the Ingredients in this Never Complicated Story. It Just Moves with a Familiar Formula and Presents Itself as a Picture Postcard From Hell.Early Nicole Kidman Looking as Fresh as a Sunrise and Billy Zane, Darkly Tanned and Buff, Exuding Pathological Behavior from the Get Go are Teamed with the Centralized Character of a Navy Veteran (Sam Neill) that is Definitely Worth His Salt.Except for a Completely Unnecessary Prolog the Movie Sails Along with Contemporary Fulfillments Like a Sex Scene and Some Obligatory Topless Shots (what's a yacht movie without those), but Along the Voyage Some Surprising Things Happen Until the Predictable Ending. Anyone who has Seen More than Three Movies will Not Find that Surprising.Overall, a Tightly Paced and Great Looking Movie with a High Entertainment Value and it's About as Attractive as These Things Get.

OllieSuave-007 This is a gripping movie starring Nicole Kidman and Sam Niell as Rae and John Ingram, who sets sail to the Pacific Ocean and come across a near-deserted yacht boarded by Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane). After John discovers the yacht's horrible secret, Hughie kidnaps Rae and takes over and her husband's boat, leaving John stranded and Rae struggling to take back control of their boat.With believable acting and intense drama, this is a thrilling movie from start to finish. Terry Hayes wrote a great screenplay and Phillip Noyce got some great direction going, keeping the movie full of surprises and the plot's momentum going strong from beginning to end.This movie is edge-of-your excitement that makes you glued to the screen, wondering how our protagonists are going to survive their ordeal. It's gripping fun.Grade B+