The Abyss
A fractured deep-sea engineering team confronts military paranoia, lethal pressure, and an impossible intelligence beneath the ocean.
Overview
Dive into the depths of the ocean where secrets lurk and danger awaits.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- claustrophobic
- harrowing
- propulsive
- immersive movie night
- science fiction marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's gripping claustrophobic suspense, memorable ensemble, and groundbreaking underwater effects, while finding its fantasy resolution overextended or contrived.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The deep sea oil crew relies on diving knowledge, engineering, and cooperation to investigate the submarine disaster and survive escalating hazards.
The film repeatedly places divers and crew inside cramped habitats, submersibles, and inky ocean depths where pressure and oxygen become immediate threats.
The crew's mysterious underwater discoveries and the military response gradually transform an apparent hostile mystery into a question of contact and understanding.
Formerly married petroleum engineers Bud and Lindsey Brigman must work together despite unresolved personal conflict during the recovery mission.
Films like The Abyss, and why
Sphere
Shares underwater survival tension, military secrecy, science fiction mystery, and claustrophobic production design.
The Thing
Shares ocean-bound isolation, alien contact, escalating paranoia, and high-concept science fiction suspense.
Crimson Tide
Shares submarine peril, military crisis, technical problem-solving, and sustained claustrophobic thriller pacing.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Shares spectacular science fiction effects, first-contact wonder, and a humanist encounter with an unknown intelligence.
Movie Details
- Director
- James Cameron
- Release Date
- 1989-08-09
- Runtime
- 140 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (3612)
Cast
- Ed Harris
- Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
- Michael Biehn
- Leo Burmester
- Todd Graff
- John Bedford Lloyd
- Kimberly Scott
- Chris Elliott
- J.C. Quinn
- Pierce Oliver Brewer, Jr.
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Disney Plus
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Abyss about?
- A fractured deep-sea engineering team confronts military paranoia, lethal pressure, and an impossible intelligence beneath the ocean.
- What is The Abyss like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Abyss as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Abyss violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Abyss as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Abyss?
- Critics broadly praised the film's gripping claustrophobic suspense, memorable ensemble, and groundbreaking underwater effects, while finding its fantasy resolution overextended or contrived.
- Which films are like The Abyss?
- Films with a similar feel include Sphere, The Thing, Crimson Tide, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
- How long is The Abyss?
- The Abyss runs 140 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Abyss?
- In United States, The Abyss streams on Disney Plus.
