Canada 
Mexico 
Spain 
UK 
Ireland 
Australia 
Argentina 
Chile 
Colombia 
Uruguay 
Paraguay 
Peru 
Ecuador 
Venezuela 
Costa Rica 
Honduras 
Guatemala 
Bolivia 
Dominican Rep. Leviathan
- Original title
- Leviathan
- Year
- 1989
- Running time
- 98 min.
- Country
United States- Director
- Screenwriter
- Cast
-
Peter Weller
Richard Crenna
Amanda Pays
Daniel Stern
Ernie Hudson
Hector Elizondo
Meg Foster
Lisa Eilbacher- Michael Carmine
- See all credits
- Music
- Cinematography
- Producer
- Co-production United States-Italy;
- Genre
- Sci-Fi. Fantasy. Horror | Monsters
- Synopsis
- George Pan Cosmatos's Leviathan goes down as the single most derivative sci-fi/horror hybrid of the past several decades. Just how derivative is it? Alien helmer Ridley Scott could have (and probably should have) sued the pants off of Cosmatos - not simply for plagiarism, but for no-holds-barred copyright infringement. Every scene in this lackluster thriller may work on its own terms - in all fairness, Cosmatos demonstrates an apt ability to build tension and a deft hand for action scenes - but the picture represents such a blatant steal from Alien that it must certainly have inspired scores of legal threats. (Not even Orca was this ripped-off). The following elements feel cribbed, point-blank, from the 1979 Scott film: 1) The central premise of having a multi-racial crew of men and women "picked off," one-at-a-time, by an unseen menace; 2) The set design of the ship; 3) The design of the central creature; 4) the criticism of multinational corporations that deliberately send experimental crews out on perilous missions and then abandon them to death's jaws; 5) The concept of having the creature consume the crew members from the inside out (remember the alien bursting through John Hurt's stomach?); 6) The notion of keeping the audience in a state of dread with "false attacks" on the crew; 7) The space suit worn by the protagonist in a "final battle" with the alien menace; 8) a mold-encrusted, insulting ending where the creature "is not really dead." 'Insulting' is the operative word for the entire picture, in fact; surely Cosmatos and his screenwriters, David Peoples and Jeb Stuart, didn't believe that by changing the galactic environ to an aquatic environ, viewers would overlook the similarities?! Peter Weller does okay as the barrel-chested lead (how refreshing to see him playing a hero here after his abusive monster in the godawful Firstborn) and the notoriously green-eyed Meg Foster is suitably vile (has she ever played otherwise?) as a representative of the home corporation. But Richard Crenna and the rest of the protagonists lack the charisma of Harry Dean Stanton, Veronica Cartwright, Yaphet Kotto and the rest of the Nostromo crew. You want happiness? Stick with Ridley. (Nathan Southern: All Movie Guide)
- Awards
-
1990: Avoriaz International Fantastic Film Festival: Best Special Effects. 2 nominations
- Critics' reviews
-
-
"Leviathan may be mediocre, unoriginal, boring and nauseating, but it probably won't be the worst sci-fi we'll see this year."
- Movie Soulmates' ratings
-
Register so you can access movie recommendations tailored to your movie taste.
- Friends' ratings
-
Register so you can check out ratings by your friends, family members, and like-minded members of the FA community.
Is the synopsis/plot summary missing? Do you want to report a spoiler, error or omission? Please send us a message.
If you are not a registered user please send us an email to [email protected]All copyrighted material (movie posters, DVD covers, stills, trailers) and trademarks belong to their respective producers and/or distributors.
For US ratings information please visit: www.mpaa.org www.filmratings.com www.parentalguide.org
