Horror Movie Review: The Evil Below (1989)

A late 80’s underwater horror movie? No, it’s not The Abyss or Deepstar Six or Leviathan or the many others that came out around this period. You’ll wish it was though as The Evil Below is as shallow and tepid as a child’s paddling pool.

Written by Arther Payne and directed by Jean-Claude Dubois. The Evil Below stars Wayne Crawford and June Chadwick.

Crawford plays Max Cash, a struggling fisherman living in the Bahamas. He meets Sarah Livingstone, who has come to find ‘The El Diabolo’. What’s that? A ship that is said to have sunk near one of the many islands. Sarah convinces Max to help her find the ship as it is also said to hold valuable treasures.

Oh, it also happens to be cursed. That’s an important detail even if the movie forgets it.

For Max and Sarah, it’s not as easy as simply diving to find the ship though. There are people who don’t want them to find it. As well as supernatural forces working against them.

Is this a horror movie? Is this a thriller? Is it a romance? It sure doesn’t know what it is. Regardless, everyone ends up disappointed. It’s not horrifying, it’s not thrilling and as far as romances go, it’s not going to be giving anyone hot flushes.

It’s cheap to look at, ugly in places, with terrible sound, and awkward acting and dialogue. If all of this wasn’t bad enough, its plot is all over the place and it is mind-numbingly boring. It’s a real shame as the movie has promise. A cursed sunken ship? That’s an awesome idea. Talk about dropping the ball.

There is very little to redeem this movie. It splutters along, showcasing a mysterious sea creature in the first few minutes then forgetting it exists for the remainder. Seriously, this thing is never seen again in the movie. Pointless… but you’ll get used to thinking that throughout.

Is there anything worth praising about The Evil Below? Well, the music can be quite interesting at times. Not what you’d call ‘good’ or even fitting for the scene that it’s being used for but… interesting.

It’s the only time that word is going to come up in a conversation about The Evil Below.