Leviathan - So, it's 'Alien' underwater... so what?

I hear the pitch meeting for 'Alien' was simply... 'Jaws in space.' If that urban legend is true then I reckon the pitch for 'Leviathan' was just 'Alien underwater.' Yes, it's that original, but no - it's not that bad.

In the near future a team of... people are working in a deep sea underwater base when they get hideously attacked by something big, nasty and designed by SFX master Stan Winston.  What more do you need to know?

'Leviathan' is just your average B-movie and, if you're looking for something deep and meaningful, then you'll see that as a put-down.  However, despite nothing being that special about it, it's still an awful lot of fun if you're in the mood for a cheesy, monster-munching B-movie with an over-the-top monster picking off the cast one by one.

First of all the cast is pretty top notch.  No, there may not be many Oscar winners among them, but you're sure to at least recognise one or two from other similar movies.  The star is Peter 'Robocop' Weller and, although he may be about the only person you really are sure who's who (Ernie Hudson is about the second most familiar face and, if you're into your early 'X-Files' you may recognise the female lead as Mulder's ex girlfriend, but she was only in one episode).  However, just because you may not know exactly where you've seen every cast member, doesn't mean they put in a bad performance.

In there sorts of films, it's easy to get one character mixed up with another and they're all kind of interchangable.  Not here.  They're actually pretty original and individual, so you may ever feel some kind of emotion when they're eventually mutilated beyond belief.

The sets look like something out of 'Aliens' (you'll see I say 'Aliens' over the original) and the two could well be set in the same universe.  The direction and soundtrack are nothing special, but the creature effects are decent enough.  Before excessive CGI film-makers actually had to make practical effects.  Yes, they may look a little dated today, but the film-makers clearly put a lot of detail into their hideous creations and it shows.

'Leviathan' was never a hit when it was released, but it does look like it's developed a cult audience over the years, which I think is fair.  It may not be anything original, but it is definitely a bright spot in a sea of otherwise forgettable monster munching B-movies.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that