PRESENTS

Russia's 2020 action flick, Superdeep, boasts a surprisingly confusing story for such a simple premise. To call Superdeep shallow may be a little "on the nose", but this unsatisfying irony stands true. Fans of 'The Thing' and 'Leviathan' may recognize Superdeep's hive mind monster, even through the thicket of fungal spores and vines that allude to a more nuanced creature, but in the the end, fall short as just another sentient blob on a blind, unexplained, unjustified hunt for protagonist blood. The underground setting of the film, which judging by the namesake was meant to be a central point of the story, could have been mistaken for almost any other arena - deep space, deep water, planet X. The would-be perfect narrative tool, the mine shaft elevator, should have served to guide the audience through the confusing script. Instead it leads the audience to terminally mood breaking questions such as; "where are we now?", "how did we get here?", "Am I supposed to know why they're afraid of that door?". The version of this film available on Shudder is poorly dubbed, which is a detriment to almost any film, but in this case is exceptionally destructive considering that much of the character and relationship building dialogue is based around the accents and language barriers. It is difficult to knock the performances of an ensemble of actors who's work has been cut and remastered post shoot. I, personally, will hold out hope that the acting and writing was passable, even enjoyable had I only witnessed it in its intended language. Superdeep wins a few points back for some excellent makeup and practical creature effects, but it's just not enough to get it to a score worth recommending.