DeepStar Six (1989) - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Five years ago I got to review KLSC’s first Blu-ray release of Friday the 13th filmmaker Sean S. Cunningham’s DeepStar Six. I enjoyed the hell out of this aquatic cult classic then, and I still get a kick out of it today. Among the zany sub-genre of “monsters of the deep” horror/sci-fi films to spawn in the waters between 1989-1990, I’d rank this solidly in third place. The Abyss was the film to beat to the cinema screens of that time, and in the rush, films like Leviathan, The Rift, and Roger Corman’s Lords of the Deep were all released to theaters or video store shelves in rapid succession. The Evil Below also came out that year, but I've never seen it, from what I hear it'd pull up the rear. Here’s how I rank these films - 

1. The Abyss 

2. Leviathan

3. DeepStar Six

4. Lords of the Deep

5. The Rift

DeepStar Six comes in third because it’s a good creepy, gnarly monster movie, but its plot plays out almost beat for beat to Leviathan but on a smaller budget. Credit is due for actually shooting some scenes underwater instead of only using dry-for-wet low-lighting, fog machines, chicken feathers, and over-cranking the cameras. However, this one does look notably cheaper. Made on an $8,000,000.00 budget, the film had about a third of the money to work with as Leviathan and often that lack of funds shows. It doesn't quite fall into the "garage sci-fi" aesthetic of pegboard walls and recycled radio gear for dressing, but it can get pretty close at times. They certainly stretched the pennies. 

However, credit where credit is due, Cunningham spent those feeble funds where they were needed most - monster and gore effects! When the shit hits the fan, this is a fun flick. We get submerging sets with a guy trapped in a door. We get a dude bitten in half while dangling in his pressure suit. We also get one of the best, gnarliest implosion sequences ever! And what for little do we see of our big bad beastie, it’s a pretty solid creature design! 

But there I go. I already reviewed the movie once already and when I should just be pasting in my old thoughts, I’m dithering away about this incredibly entertaining goofy movie. I’ll never say that DeepStar Six is a great film but I will stand by it as an entertaining creature feature with an interesting production history. Now to get on with it, here’s what I had to say about this film a few years ago: 

President Reagan had Star Wars for missile defense in the 80s - in the future U.S. missile dominance will come from the bottom of the ocean. With the DeepStar project, the U.S. Navy is building submerged nuclear missile bases on the bottom of the ocean. Captain Laidlaw (Taurean Blacque) and his crew of engineers and scientists are under the gun to get the last missile sled in place or they'll be shut down. When Joyce Collins (Nancy Everhard) is ordered to rush the job and detonate the build site without precautions, a massive deadly creature is unleashed threatening the entire DeepStar base. With air running out and a monstrous creature chowing down on the crew, it becomes a race to the surface - and survival. 

If it wasn't for James Cameron and his aquatic opus The Abyss being a highly publicized tentpole project, we wouldn't have the rush of modest-budget and made-for-cheap imitators. Leviathan, The Rift, and Roger Corman with Lords of the Deep… every studio in town was trying to beat The Abyss at the box office. Carolco masterminds Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna and Paramount jumped into these murky waters with DeepStar Six. With a strained budget and an unfinished script from writers Lewis Abernathy and Geof Miller, this film moves fast with some impressive visual effects - and others that weren't so convincing. The cast is game and gives it their all and with any Sean S. Cunningham show, when the blood flows it's a gnarly affair. 

I've been waiting for DeepStar Six to hit Blu-ray for some time now. As the world awaits The Abyss to finally someday maybe possibly (who knows?) reach Blu-ray and/or 4K UHD, I've made it a point to complete my collection of imitators. DeepStar Six fills a big gap. Watching it through today, the film is one of those happy accidents where the idea all of these studio imitations play so similar they're practically identical. There are beats between Leviathan and DeepStar Six that are practically page-for-page the same. Likewise, there are moments in Lords of the Deep that absolutely ripped off both of those movies while desperately trying to make its creature as benevolent as The Abyss and still offer some kind of horror element. Once the big monster gets into the show, DeepStar quickly becomes Alien meets Friday the 13th with this massive creature hiding in very small spaces but somehow gets the jump on everyone! 

Imitation or not, DeepStar Six is a fun one. Maybe not the greatest of the bunch, but I dig it. You can see the cast work their asses off trying to sell this movie. Nancy Everhard is really giving it her all as the obligatory final girl. Nia Peeples gets the arduous task of being the brainy-but-sexy warning alarm and exposition directory when Marius Weyers' Van Gelder makes a risky decision. Elya Baskin is fun as his short-lived Burciaga. Matt McCoy does what he does and slings off the jokes with ease… until he gets into that big dive suit. Then you have a class of actor unto his own, Miguel Ferrer as Snyder who brings his signature jackass intensity while enjoying the best death in the film. It's an underwater monster show, grab a snorkel and dive in! DeepStar Six is worth it. 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Kino Lorber Studio Classics once again jumps into the dark waters of Sean S. Cunningham’s DeepStar Six, this time as a two-disc 4K UHD release. The 4K is pressed on a Region Free BD100 with a Region A BD50 disc standing in for 1080p and the bulk of the extra features. The discs are housed in a standard black case with reversible insert art and a slipcover featuring the classic poster and video art. Each disc loads to KLSC’s standard static image main menu with basic navigation functions along the bottom of the screen.

Five yearsago I gave ample praise to the first Blu-ray release of DeepStar Six on 1080p Blu-ray from KLSC. A few years and a new scan later we get a welcome visual upgrade with a new 2160p Dolby Vision transfer courtesy of StudioCanal. Reportedly a new 4K scan of the original negative, I can see between releases what are sort of baked-in issues like a slightly more noisy and apparent grain structure and some soft spots, but other issues like the look of some slight crunchy edge enhancement have been mitigated. Fine line details in faces, clothing, and set design catch quite a bit more attention. The creature is still very impressive and the ample amount of gore and bloody bits quite literally pop. Speaking of pop, the Dolby Vision grade is a subtle improvement but I think it helped bring out healthier colors and skin tones than before without blasting the primaries. Red certainly gets a lot of attention! I also thought black levels and shadows looked better, so even in some of the more cramped locations that sense of depth (no pun intended) was stronger. Some of the models and fish tank visual effects still look soft, especially the distance shots, but that’s what you get when your money is better spent on letting Miguel Ferrer steal the show. 

UPDATE 6/13/25 - as someone brought to my attention - there is a near blink-and-you-miss-it repeated shot at around the 8:10 mark when the submarine is docking. This wasn't a problem on the first Blu-ray, and checking it again, it's not a problem on the included remastered Blu-ray. It's not the most severe event, but one that should be taken care of.  

UPDATE 9/15/25 - given we received the question about the repeat footage of Night of the Juggler, and what we'd score the transfer even if a disc replacement doesn't come along, I felt compelled to reevaluate this one as well. In this instance the repeat isn't as severe, but it's still there. While we can't get so specific with quarter-star ratings, I'd give this a respectable 3.75:5. Full 4+ if it gets fixed. 

Not leaving the audio out of the running, this release of DeepStar Six does include that strong DTS-HD MA 2.0 track, but also comes packed in with an excellent DTS-HD MA 5.1 offering - and my new preferred way to experience this film. I honestly wasn’t expecting much from this track so I was surprised at the level of sonic immersion. While the Front/Center channels carry most of the load, surround channels actually pick up quite a bit of activity. When things get nuts the monster runs amok or when a certain cast member tries to escape without decompressing, the surround presence was pretty wild and effective! Dialog is clean without issue, the score by Cunningham’s longtime collaborator Harry Manfredini is still great stuff. Both tracks are winners, but I gotta tip the scuba tank to the 5.1.

And not to stop short on extra features, this release also digs up some new material for fans to enjoy. Now, all of the previous extras return so if you missed those definitely jump, they’re great, especially the interviews between the makeup effects guys, the cast, and Kane Hodder. This edition comes with a new audio commentary from Horror-FX’s James G. Chandler and Ash Hamilton. I’d heard of these guys, I haven’t really spent much time with their material, but as a fan of this film, it’s a lot of fun to hear these two nerd out on this one with their observations and trivia bits. Maybe not a major addition to the pack, but a welcome one. 

4K UHD

• NEW Audio Commentary featuring Horror-FX.Com’s James G. Chandler and Ash Hamilton 
• Audio Commentary featuring Sean S. Cunningham and James Isaac
• Audio Commentary featuring Lewis Abernathy and Geof Miller
• Isolated Score Selections w/ Interview featuring Harry Manfredini 

Blu-ray

• NEW Audio Commentary featuring Horror-FX.Com’s James G. Chandler and Ash Hamilton 
• Audio Commentary featuring Sean S. Cunningham and James Isaac
• Audio Commentary featuring Lewis Abernathy and Geof Miller
• Isolated Score Selections w/ Interview featuring Harry Manfredini 
• From The Deep (HD 21:37) Interviews with Mark Shostrom, Greg Nicotero, and Robert Kurtzman
• The Survivors (HD 16:43) Interviews with Greg Evigan and Nancy Everhard
• Water Damage (HD 12:32) Interview with Kane Hodder
• Extended Vintage Interview Clips (SD 8:27)
• Behind-the-Scenes Footage (SD 4:10)
• Original EPK (SD 3:36)
• Image Gallery
• TV Spot
• Theatrical Trailer
• KLSC Trailer Gallery:
• Leviathan
• Deep Rising
• Below

Not the best of the aquatic monster movies of 1989, not the worst, DeepStar Six is a fun ride. It might play closer as the lower-budget sibling of Leviathan than The Abyss, it benefits from Cunningham’s better horror creature feature instincts. The monster is a beast, and the gore is gnarly. A dedicated cast sells the show and keeps our attention for 99 minutes. After a solid Blu-ray effort, KLSC ups the ante with a new, very nicely improved 4K UHD release. The new Dolby Vision transfer is stronger and cleaner without betraying the lower-budget production values. The new 5.1 audio mix is a beast of its own. And to add more bang for the buck, we pick up a fun new commentary track on top of all of the already great archival materials. Grab a wetsuit and take a dip.

UPDATED: For now, I'd call this release Highly Recommended with a word of caution. While the transfer looks great, there is a glitch of repeated footage in the video transfer. While a small moment, I initially missed it, but now that I've seen it, I know it's there, and I can't help but look for it. KLSC should offer a fix.