Rating: 3/5
Hooptober 5.0 | 24/32 | Aquatic Menance
In Ireland, Siobhan is a PhD student studying deep-sea fauna. She purchases a place on a fishing skip called the Niamh Cinn Óir. Only Diet Oscar Isaac (DOI) knew. Captain Freya and her husband, Gerard, worry that a redhead on board is bad luck.
As they set off, the Coast Guard warns them that their destination is in an exclusion zone. Freya orders them to find an alternative. Gerard goes into the zone without them knowing because they say the area is teeming with fish, and they need a large haul to pay their crew.
The ship collides with an unidentified object inside the exclusion zone, resulting in hull breaches and their capture. Diet Riz Ahmed (DRA) and DOI noticed the wood takes on an unusual texture. The hull breaches contain an unusual slime. Behind them looks like a starfish.
Sailors don’t dive, but Siobhan brought her diving gear, so they gave her a knife to go underwater and cut the boat free. When she goes under, she finds tentacles attached to the ship attached to a bioluminescent creature. Whatever the entity emitted from its tentacles has contaminated the ship. After DRA gets a cut, the residual slime gets into his wound, causing an unusual illness.
While everyone tries to avoid the substance, Siobhan looks for a way to stop the infection. Meanwhile, the crew quarantines on the ship — if they don’t die first. The movie is a compelling idea, even if the pacing isn’t ideal. The biggest issue is the script, which has everyone making irrational choices to keep the plot going.
Then again, that’s how it was during quarantine. Several folks did not care about anyone but themselves. Here, they only need to wait 36 hours. In life, we had an interminable wait.
As others have said, this reminds me of an X-Files episode, and Siobhan is our Scully. If only there were a Mulder to support her.