Mark Reviews Movies: SEA FEVER (2020)

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Review by Mark Dujsik | April 9, 2020

Writer/director Neasa Hardiman's Sea Fever is an effective little monster movie, in which the monsters are almost invisible. They're microscopic parasites that can enter the body of a host through any small cut or be ingested via the water in which they live. The story (which turns out to be wholly, albeit accidentally, relevant under the current circumstances around the globe) sets a superstitious, desperate, and isolated crew aboard a fishing vessel against that unseen threat.

The main protagonist is Siobhán (Hermione Corfield), a scientist, who has to tag along on a fishing expedition off the west coast of Ireland in order to complete her doctorate. The boat is led by Gerard (Dougray Scott), the skipper, and his wife Freya (Connie Nielsen). The crew is made up of rugged fishermen Johnny (Jack Hickey) and Sudi (Elie Bouakaze), as well as the former's doting aunt Ciara (Olwen Fouéré), and Omid (Ardalan Esmaili), an engineer with a pregnant wife at home.

After the boat becomes stuck in the water, the crew discovers that a giant beast has latched itself to the vessel, and it's seeping a blue goo through the hull. When the creature releases its grasp on the boat, things become even more dangerous, although it takes a grisly scene of a character's eyes exploding for the rest of the crew to realize just how perilous their situation is.

The good news is that the monster is ingeniously creepy—a concealed threat that gets inside a victim's body, causing them to lose their physical and mental senses. It could be anywhere. Anyone could be infected.

The better news is Hardiman doesn't give short shrift to the human characters. As the danger to their lives becomes clearer, each of these characters starts to behave in admirably rational or understandably irrational ways. The scientist and the engineer come up with plans to kill the larvae, and the financially struggling owners argue for the safety of the boat and the catch. When Siobhán argues that they need to place themselves under quarantine to prevent the infection from spreading, everyone is too eager to get home to pay any mind to her concerns.

Without intending it, Hardiman has made a film that speaks directly about our current crisis. Even without that element, though, Sea Fever is an unnerving thriller about an invisible threat bringing out the intelligence and ignorance of people.

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