Titles like The Last of Us, The Blob, and Resident Evil have been bandied about when describing the Russian horror movie “The Superdeep” (Shudder.) Early reviews of the film from Arseny Syuhin have been less than impressive. Besides some audiences reporting the story is a copy of the game The Last of Us, one of the main gripes about the film is that it’s been adapted into English. Sometimes when something isn’t broken, we should simply leave it be.
Superdeep opens in black and white in a hospital. A man lay bleeding and convulsing profusely as faceless masked people attend to him in hazmat suits. A short preamble tells us, that the scene was set for experimental test subjects. The time shifts used in the narrative are effective and well-placed giving a tiny bit of foreshadowing. A stern-looking man and a very upset woman talk about “the end justifying the means,” before we are launched forward to a dinner party sometime after.
Flashing forward, Anya and her friends are celebrating with a lavish spread. It includes caviar and champagne and they all listen to the news on a television nearby. A phone call interrupts proceedings. Anya is told a sound has been recorded from the Superdeep facility and 12 people are missing. 12 kilometers underground a secret borehole is being investigated and they want Anya to embark on a rescue mission to take samples. She agrees and is promised her professional dream of being part of the defense force’s elite.
Movies Like The Blob – Watch The Superdeep
Before Anya’s heavily armed plane is allowed to disembark, a man in a white protective suit is seen weaving his way toward them. Men with machine guns warn him to stop and when he doesn’t they open fire. He hits the ground presumed dead, before getting up and attempting to detonate a grenade. When the danger is cleared, Anya examines the body and instantly knows it’s related to her first case. The disease she was investigating at the opening of the film is somewhere on this site.
The Superdeep is explicitly a straightforward film. On a positive note, it doesn’t waste time with deep and meaningful conversations. On the negative side, most of the dialogue is oddly stilted and very slow. The horror and thriller film is surprisingly scant on backstories for its cast aside from first names and professions. Even in what should be a nerve-wracking scene, the tension, and excitement are instead unenthusiastic and flat. Nothing feels natural or well put together.
As the general crew underground are scientists or military, there aren’t too many safety protocols. Those that love their science might laugh their way through The Superdeep. In this situation, who and when people should be in their protective gear, are lax at best. In one scene, spores begin to release into the room and Anya is suddenly not wearing her hazmat suit. She uses her shirt and holds her breath while running around trying to locate an oxygen mask. More importantly, she remains annoyingly unscathed from a mold-borne disease.
The Superdeep Creature
Generally, more than half of The Superdeep is supposed to feel like a matter of life and death. There’s a disease that is turning people into twisted mutations. The impressive coagulation of previous victims is drained of its realism when no one investigating can even bother to put their PPE on.
Mother of Movies wanted to like The Superdeep a lot more than I did. I appreciate it for its body horror goodness and for the wicked effects. But for a film that’s 1 hour and 53 minutes long, I think I’d prefer to watch The Blob one and a half times instead.
I give The Superdeep 2020
2 Anyone can take samples out of 5
Streaming Options & Where to Watch “The Superdeep” Movie
The Superdeep (Shudder) is available on streaming platforms as well as to buy or rent.
Watch the Trailer for The Superdeep Movie
- Director and writer: Arseny Syuhin
- Original Title: Kolskaya Sverhglubokaya
- Cast for the Superdeep film are: Milena Radulovic, Sergey Ivanyuk, Nikolay Kovbas.
- The.Superdeep premiered on the Shudder streaming platform on June 17th, 2021.
