FLOP CULTURE

In 1989, James Cameron’s watery fantasy didn’t float with audiences. For once, was he out of his depth?

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Why it was a good idea (on paper)

After thrilling with Aliens, James Cameron cast out for a new species of extraterrestrial film. How about The Day the Earth Stood Still for the Cold War 80s, except underwater? With an ambitious surface sell, rich subtexts and production wizardry, The Abyss seemed set to dazzle deeply.

What went wrong?

‘You’ve gotta expect losses,’ said Cameron to David Letterman, recalling how he sold the underwater shoot to auditioning actors. Cameron was joking, obviously, but the way of water certainly didn’t run his way. Shooting in two huge containment tanks in a former nuclear power plant, Cameron grappled with leaks and storms. But the cast had it worse. Trained to dive, they were often weighted to the tanks’ base, scared of their air running out – Cameron’s air did at one point. Having to act as if using experimental ‘breathing fluid’, a stressed Ed Harris wept on his way home one night. Otherwise, the cast were either underwater in the dark due to a decision to shoot at night, or bored senseless while waiting to shoot. Some crew members whose hair hadn’t gone white with stress had their hair bleached when a tank was over ‐chlorinated. Meanwhile, execs fretted over costs and other (if lesser) aqua-pics’ failures – DeepStar Six, Leviathan – augured badly for the genre’s fortunes. Released a month late to lowgrade returns, The Abyss lacked sea legs: distracted by his underwater ambitions, Cameron didn’t quite land the story.

Redeeming feature Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio give palpably fraught (wonder why?) turns as separated spouses. Cameron maxes wonder and tension nicely, too, aided by Alan Silvestri’s score.

What happened next?

After the director’s cut, the box-office trickle became a wave of respect for Cameron’s flawed but sincere epic. T2’s liquid metal and Titanic’s waterworks proved he’d been on to something.

Should it be remade?

It would take a Cameron to try it, and since he’s busy now, that’s a no. Just give UK fans that fabled 4K upgrade.