Deadwater (film)

Plot

Secret U.S. military interrogations of suspected terrorists are being conducted on an American World War II-era ship in the Persian Gulf. After mysterious sounds are heard on the ship, an unexplained force kills the crew. When contact with the ship is lost, the army sends a team of Marines and two scientists to investigate. When they land on the ship, they discover that almost all the crew have been killed. The team, led by Col. John Willets (Lance Henriksen), cannot make contact with command, while the ship drifts toward Iranian waters. Willets interrogates one of the scientists and learns that the mysterious force is the ghost of a Nazi officer who was created to be a secret weapon. The ghost, which has strong psychic powers, is trapped on the ship and the two scientists were sent to try to capture it. Meanwhile, the supposed terrorist being interrogated onboard turns out to be an MIT-educated decoy (who was forced to impersonate a terrorist). He aids in the efforts to destroy the ghost, before being killed by it.

Cast

Lance Henriksen as Col. John Willets

Gary Stretch as Colin Willets

James Russo as Commander Combs

Katherine Randolph as Traci Leonard

D.C. Douglas as Larry Grubman

Jim Hanks as Ensign Buford

Matthew Alan as Lt. Chris McCloskey

David Hutchison as Navy Seal #1

Richard Jenik as Lt. Ricks

John Karyus as Present Day Captain

Paul Lacovara as Navy Seal #2

Grant Mathis as Gunther Neumann

Robert Pike Daniel as Slab

Lee Majdoub as Fahdawi / Khalil

Tom McCafferty as Lt. Jackson

P. David Miller as World War II Intelligence Officer

Tracy Miller as CIA Agent #1

Freddy Douglas as CIA Agent #2

Daniel Louis Rivas as Lt. Swanson

Jonathan Espolin as Lt. Commander Alberts

Production

An example of low-budget guerrilla filmmaking, the film cost a reported $350,000 and was shot in 15 days using a couple of Panasonic HVX-200 HD digital cameras. The producers secured a restored museum Liberty ship docked in Los Angeles and shot mostly at night after museum patrons had left. Luckily the ship made a trip to a World War II San Diego event, affording the producers to get "at sea" footage for free. All the guns were plastic models, so all the muzzle flashes and sound effects were laid in later. Director Roel Reine does a commentary with all this information.

Release

The film premiered on 20 July 2008 as direct to video production over First Look Studios.