Dead Calm
Tags: mystery, murder, cult, violence, atmospheric, flashback, insanity, suspenseful, home movie

Plot synopsis:
A troubled couple, Australian naval officer John Ingram (Neill) and his wife Rae (Kidman) take a break on their yacht in the Pacific after a tragic automobile accident in which their small son was killed while Rae was driving. The couple hope that this trip will help Rae cope with the loss. However, their holiday turns into a nightmare after they rescue an even more troubled stranger, Hughie Warriner (Zane), a man who claims to have lost his companions on another, now-disabled boat due to food poisoning.Suspicious of Hughie's story, John tries to convince the panicked Hughie to return with him to his sinking ship, so they can confirm the deaths and salvage anything of use. Hughie, however, refuses to go back.In an attempt to find answers, John travels to the sinking ship while Hughie is resting. He tells his wife (who isn't convinced that Hughie is lying) to equip the shotgun and keep it with her. Instead of equipping the gun, Rae decides to let her husband go adventuring while she plays fetch with her dog. Upon his arrival on the ship, John discovers that Hughie's original story was untrue. He finds several bodies but realizes that the dead were murdered. A tape of a film reveals that Hughie was the cameraman for a low-budget production, during which he snapped and murdered the director and four women involved. Now knowing the truth, John tries to rush back to his yacht to warn Rae.Meanwhile on the Ingram yacht, Rae sees John across the water yelling for her to get off the boat. The sleeping Hughie awakens, breaks out of the room in which he was locked, struggles with Rae before knocking her out, and turns on the boat's motor, abandoning John and traveling away with Rae onboard. John returns in his dinghy to the sinking ship to try to catch up and save Rae.After a slight delay spent emptying the ship of water, John is able to start the ship's motor and start his gradual chase. Rae awakens to find Hughie piloting the ship and playing with the dog. She attempts (unsuccessfully) to convince him to go back for John, but he refuses because he told John not to board the ship in the first place. She then goes down below, collapsing on her bed and weeping. Later, she heads for the radio and tries to determine the distance between their yacht and John's location. She receives Morse code contact from John using the damaged radio on the sinking ship. Rae tells John that she will find a way to return for him. They decide that Rae should stop the yacht in order to buy some time for John to catch up, and she removes the keys so that the yacht cannot travel further. Hughie soon realizes this and attempts to retrieve the keys, which she tosses into the water. Unfortunately, her dog dives into the ocean and recovers them (thinking she was playing fetch). Frightened, Rae runs into the bathroom with the angry Hughie banging the bathroom door as hard as he can. Once Hughie calms down, Rae opens the door and smiles, leading Hughie to believe that she likes him and was just playing around.Rae, made sullen by her failed attempts, contacts John to inform him that she has failed. John signals that the ship is going to sink within six hours, and Rae promises that she will get the yacht there by sunset. Before she can tell her husband that she loves him however, John's radio breaks down completely, and they are cut off. Rae begins to cry with helplessness.A lustful Hughie sees Rae teary eyed and frightened and begins to soothe her. While Hughie is kissing her hands and embracing her, Rae realizes that he is seducing her and wants to have sex. She acquiesces, while formulating a plan in her head about what she'll do.They stare at each other and Hughie moves in for a kiss. Rae resists slightly at first, then quickly gives in sharing what appears to be a long, passionate kiss. After they kiss, Rae becomes excited and motionless as Hughie strokes her bottom lip and moves his hand down slowly to grope her right breast.Hughie then leads Rae on the floor (Rae feeling coerced into this but following with growing excitement nonetheless) and they quickly start to kiss and undress on the ground. Hughie lustfully caresses Rae's figure while ripping off her shorts and underwear causing Rae to moan loudly in surprised arousal. With both completely nude, they begin foreplay with Hughie kneading her backside as Rae slowly kisses him. Rae then says that she needs to go to the bathroom. Hughie casually let's Rae go as she slides up off of him, while seductively kissing his chest, and slips on her short black robe. In actuality, she heads up on deck to put together the shotgun. The dog shows up and begins to bark for attention. Rae whispers for him to be quiet, but by then it's too late as Hughie had already heard the dog. Suspicious, Hughie gets up from the floor to look for Rae.Knowing that she doesn't have enough time to load the gun, she quickly sees cigarettes and grabs hold of them leaving the unloaded gun behind. Hughie is relieved when she brings out the cigarettes which she says are for after they have sex. Rae then goes to kiss Hughie some more. Hughie is flattered by this and believes that she wants to continue from where they left off. To distract Hughie away from the gun though, Rae seductively leads him to her bed. In the bedroom, Rae gets naked again and sits up on her bed while Hughie stands right in front of her caressing his hand all over her body. Rae begins to quiver and close her eyes in a pleasing fashion during this. Hughie leans down to kiss her neck causing Rae to quirk her eyes and jerk her head slightly. When she opens her eyes, she stares up at his face while Hughie strokes her lips yet again and moves in to mount her.As Hughie lays on top of Rae he starts kissing her breasts which seems to fascinate Rae as she looks on. The door opens causing Rae to jerk her head in shock (thinking that John is opening the door). Alas it was the family dog looking to to see what was going on. Feeling uncomfortable about having sex with another man in front her dog, she cleverly tells Hughie that she wants to put the dog up onto the deck (in hopes that she can also finish loading the gun). However, Hughie is so sexually aroused at this point that he tries to ignore her request and finally takes the matter into his own hands by telling the dog to go away. The dog listens and heads out the door leaving Rae behind with Hughie passionatly kissing all over her face. Feeling that there are no other options at this point, Rae firmly wraps her arms and legs around Hughie and readies herself for sex. Hughie firmly enters her which seems to cause Rae some discomfort initially but his intense lovemaking soon has Rae panting and moaning orgasmically where both she and Hughie eventually climax together in bed as the dog reenters the room.Back on the sinking ship, the mast falls over, covering the exit hatch and trapping John. He continues driving the boat until it no longer works, and as the room floods completely, he grabs a small tube and sticks it out of the hatch, allowing him to breathe. Suddenly, he sees fish inside the ship and realizes that there must be a hole. He finds it and breaks out of the ship. He sets the sinking ship on fire to signal for help.Meanwhile Rae and Hughie are still in the bedroom. While Hughie is getting dressed in John's clothes, Rae (back in her robe) sits on her bed feeling guilty at herself for being an unfaithful wife and enjoying sex with the man who left her husband stranded out at sea. Although it isn't made explicitly clear the shots of the changing weather conditions seem to suggest Rae and Hughie spent a few hours below deck indulging in frenzied and passionate sex. With time running out, however, she focuses on rescuing John by continuing to play the part of "Hughie's lover". She gets up and allows Hughie to play some music while they kiss and hug each other. When Hughie leaves for the bathroom, Rae fixes a drink, slips in some of her sleeping medicine, and pretends to drink it as he returns. She then offers it to Hughie, telling him to fix her another one while she dresses.Back on deck, Rae finishes loading the gun and hides it when she hears Hughie coming. Hughie is suspicious again until Rae buys time by saying that he should ready the yacht for a coming storm. When Hughie returns, he finds her with the gun and fights to get it away from her. The fight wears down Rae, who drops the gun and hides. Hughie then feels the effects of the sedative and recklessly uses up the ammunition, which allows Rae to locate John's spear gun and lock herself in the bedroom. Once Rae locks herself in her bedroom she continues to shoot the spear gun at the pounding door. When she sees blood running from the open end of a spear in the door, she assumes that Hughie got hit. However to her surprise he comes out from behind the door to strangle her. He almost succeeds were it not from the drugged drink which causes him to finally pass out. Rae discovers that the blood was actually that of her dog whom she accidentally killed with the harpoon sticking out of his neck. After tying up Hughie, Rae gets dressed in warmer clothes and steers the boat towards John.Later one, Hughie wakes up and cuts himself loose with a broken mirror piece that he shattered, but Rae knocks him out with the spear gun before he could do anything. She later releases a rescue raft from the yacht, pushes Hughie's body into it, and watches him float away. Rae later sights the now-blazing shipwreck in the distance and eventually finds John in a raft next to the signal fire he has set. Holding out her hand, she pulls him from the raft as the yacht speeds by.Soon after, the couple are once again happy (Rae never revealing to John her intimate time with Hughie). They discover the floating raft with Hughie's body missing. Trying to forget and put aside what she went through with Hughie, Rae grabs a flare gun and blows out a flare to sink the floating raft leaving John to wonder what had happened when he was stranded. Later on the next day Rae is swimming in the ocean to cleanse herself as John looks down on her. Rae climbs back on the boat and sits as John soothingly washes her hair with his hands. She closes her eyes in pleasure feeling happy to be back with John. John leaves for a moment to prepare their meal. Suddenly a pair of bloody hands (obviously Hughie's) begin washing Rae's hair, she soon discovers it is not John washing her. She begins to scream for help until Hughie strangles her. John comes back looking at the struggle and quickly grabs a flare gun. With the flare gun, he fires it into Hughie's mouth and Hughie's head flares up as he falls off of the ship. Rae and John run back to each other and stare at Hughie's body float away into the ocean.

Review: A great horror thriller in the style of Eric Red. Dead Calm is directed by Australian film maker Philip Noyce (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger) and he is very talented director.
The realistic plot keeps you thinking, What if that happened to me?, also its not far fetched at all, every scene is acted and directed in a very realistic way, unlike other suspense films which like to stray from reality.
It is among my favorite movies, and I've probably watched it 5 or 6 times over the years.'Lost at sea' stories have always appealed to me and this one is, in my opinion, one of the best ever filmed.
This is a truly intense thriller -- packed with so many twists and turns that it's totally compelling from beginning to end.Nicole Kidman is positively stunning as Rae Ingram, a strong and invincible young woman who is determined to rescue her husband, John (Sam Neill).
He is so convincing and scary that, to this day, I find it difficult to watch Zane in other films without thinking of Hughie.'Dead Calm' delivers an engrossing story that is well performed and very unique..
Dead Calm is one of those rare thrillers with good acting, suspense and great setting.
Also, since I'm interested in the sea and ships, that's probably part of the reason why I like the movie so much.A young Nicole Kidman plays Rae, the wife of John Ingram (Sam Neill), who are taking a sailing trip in the Pacific after losing their only son in an automobile accident.
Very unbelievable plot, with a female lead role who can do nothing right and who has no mind of her own to make just one correct and logic decision.Add to it's incredibility a husband who would leave his wife alone on a boat with a strange man with horse lame story in the middle of the ocean while rowing off a mile in a dingy.The couple would surely have called around on the radio to report the alleged accidents on the deserted schooner, and surely the wife would sooner have recalled the man's advice of grabbing the gun early on.In all it's just another of the stories where no one is doing the right and logic thing, every thing that possibly can go wrong goes wrong etc.Predictable, boring, stupid and very ordinary..
Music is by Graeme Revell and cinematography by Dean Semler.After losing their young son in a car accident, John (Neill) and Rae Ingram (Kidman) head out alone on their yacht for an ocean vacation.
His name is Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane), and the Ingram's are about to wish they had never met him...The Saracen and The Orpheus.It's so refreshing to find a thriller that works without tricks or elaborate plotting, where the narrative is stripped down to the bare bones and played out purely by three characters.
Zane is suitably edgy, very much giving Hughie a man-child persona, he too exudes a dangerous sexuality, and when it inevitably kicks off, he is scary into the bargain.A couple of daft character decisions within the story, and a WTF finale, stop it from being near the top of the thriller movie pantheon.
I found myself alternating between hoping Kidman would finally kill Zane's character and no longer caring about her - I would've been satisfied by her getting lost at sea and having the movie end halfway through.
After rescuing Hughie, they take him on board but the castaway is far and above their worst fears, confirmed when John is stranded on the sinking ship and Rae is stuck on the yacht with Hughie who, it is fair to say, has bad intentions on his mind."Dead Calm" is a superbly written film, simple and effective at gripping the viewer and ratcheting the tension towards the end.
Maybe on dry land he'll behave himself and won't annoy nice people like John and Rae Ingram (Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman).
Poor John, meanwhile, is left behind aboard the schooner, there to do battle with the nasty demons that Hughie left behind.For all intensive porpoises, "Dead Calm" is a three-character thriller played out almost entirely on the water.
Besides Billy turning into a "waterwolf" every time he gets out on the choppy brine, Sam Neill himself has had his own problems on H2O mit NaCl. Besides "Dead Calm," consider Sam's roles in the problematic-water movies "The Hunt for Red October," "The Rainbow Warrior" and the recent TV movie "Submerged." Maybe he should consider sticking to dry land, too.
Dead calm is an 'edge of your seat' thriller with above-average acting from Kidman, Neil and Zane.
Almost all of the movie takes place on a boat (and some sequences on another boat), but the filmmakers were able to pull off a taut thriller about a psycho who terrorizes a girl when the two are on the boat together.Based on the novel by Charles Williams and screenplay by Terry Hayes this story is brought to the screen (or DVD in my case) with great skill by director, Phillip Noyce.
Tedious "thriller"-it has some worthwhile moments when you wonder if Nicole Kidman's husband's character will die,but,when presented with all the opportunities to kill off her psycho adversary,you just keep scratching your head and say-"just kill him!!!." The ending is pretty lame as well.The Mystery Science Theatre 3000 guys would have a field day with this yawner....
Could easily have degenerated into usual psychological-drama/slasher-horror stuff but there are enough sub-plots and ebbs and flows to keep it interesting.On the down side, some parts of the plot feel contrived and implausible.Good work from Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman in the lead roles, and even Billy Zane is okay in his role.
***SPOILERS*** Picking up a stranger on a row boat, from what looks like a deserted black schooner, off the Australian coast a couple of vacationers Rae & John Ingrem, Niclole Kidder & Sam Neill, give him water and a place to stay until they can sail to shore on their yacht.
"Dead Clam" has more then it's share of suspense and the brilliant photography in the way that director, Philip Noyce, uses colors in the movie is so striking that at some point in the film you stop caring what the story is all about and just sit back and watch the scenery.
The Australian Navy Officer John Ingram (Sam Neill) and his wife Rae Ingram (Nicole Kidman) are sailing in the sea, recovering from the loss of their young son in a car accident.
While notable for it's naturalistic milieu depictions and fine cinematography by cinematographer Dean Simler, this narrative-driven story contains a great score by New Zealand composer Graeme Revell.This somewhat humorous and involving psychological thriller from the late 1980s which is set on a yacht in the Pacific Ocean where a grieving couple welcomes a stranger who claims to be the only survivor from a sinking sailing ship, is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure and the fine acting performances by New Zealand actor Sam Neill, Australian actress Nicole Kidman and American actor Billy Zane.
I was surprised at how well this film works with little dialogue and much of it being scared looks from Nicole Kidman.Dead Calm is a thriller that uses its surroundings to put you on the edge of your seat.
The open water, the fact that Ray (Nicole Kidman) is stuck on a boat with a crazy guy (Billy Zane) and no where to run while her husband (Sam Neil) is on the verge of drowning on another ship.
Nicole Kidman,(Rae Ingram) plays the charming young wife and Sam Neill, (John Ingram) is Rae's husband who is a Naval Officer and this couple are looking forward to a enjoyable romantic sail away from their past problems.
Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill gave outstanding performances along with a great supporting actor Billie Zane.
Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman, and especially Billy Zane should have won awards for this movie.
I've watched this movie several times and I highly recommend this to anyone who would enjoy a chilling thriller.This was definitely the breakout movie for Billy Zane and I must say, if you liked him in Titanic, you'll love him even more in Dead Calm, that is, if you're not frightened by his actions throughout the movie.He looks hot, but when you see the movie, you'll question why Billy hasn't got the recognition that he deserves.
"Dead Calm" manages to create a beautiful atmosphere, and Sam Neill, Billy Zane and especially Nicole Kidman were born for these roles: all of them have taken on great parts other than their roles in "Dead Calm", but this needs to be counted among some of all their best performances.
Sam Neil is a master when it comes to horror/thriller movies, Billy Zane also performs really well and the same goes for a young Nicole Kidman.
A mass-murderer (Billy Zane) kidnaps and seduces a young woman (Nicole Kidman) after leaving her husband (Sam Neill) to die on the vessel whose crew he has just slaughtered.This is a great thriller, and really gets to the heart of what makes thrillers work: vulnerability, desperation, isolation.
Released in 1989, "Dead Calm" is the story of a grieving Australian couple vacationing 1200 miles from land on their yacht in the South Pacific (Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman).
It's the confined location of the open sea and the cut-off-from-the-world atmosphere that make "Dead Calm" great, along with all-around excellent filmmaking, including the breathtaking cinematography and magnificent score by Graeme Revell.Neill shows that he has the gravitas to carry a film as the male protagonist, which is why he was snagged for 1993's "Jurassic Park." Kidman similarly shines as the female protagonist in her first major motion picture.
Admittedly, there are only three characters to speak of, but Kidman, Neill and Zane are perfect in their respective roles: Zane, a most under-rated actor in my opinion, is utterly convincing as a deranged lunatic; the always excellent Neill adds yet another great performance to his résumé; and the fresh-faced and very sexy Kidman gives a memorable and credible turn as a fragile woman forced to find an inner strength if she and her husband are to survive their ordeal.Although this film isn't quite a 'Perfect 10' (to borrow a phrase from Sea Trial, which I highly recommend, BTW) thanks to a rather silly ending that feels at odds with the rest of the film, it is a solid 9 — a rating that I'll happily bump up to a 10 anyway for getting the lovely Kidman in the altogether for a steamy sex scene..
It Just Moves with a Familiar Formula and Presents Itself as a Picture Postcard From Hell.Early Nicole Kidman Looking as Fresh as a Sunrise and Billy Zane, Darkly Tanned and Buff, Exuding Pathological Behavior from the Get Go are Teamed with the Centralized Character of a Navy Veteran (Sam Neill) that is Definitely Worth His Salt.Except for a Completely Unnecessary Prolog the Movie Sails Along with Contemporary Fulfillments Like a Sex Scene and Some Obligatory Topless Shots (what's a yacht movie without those), but Along the Voyage Some Surprising Things Happen Until the Predictable Ending.
After tragically losing their son in a car accident, wealthy Australian Sam Neill (as John Ingram) and his exceptionally beautiful young wife Nicole Kidman (as Rae) take their dog "Benji" and set sail for a hopefully restful vacation on their yacht.
The cast is attractive, the formula works and the photography (by Dean Semler) is beautiful.****** Dead Calm (4/7/89) Phillip Noyce ~ Nicole Kidman, Billy Zane, Sam Neill, Rod Mullinar.
This is a gripping movie starring Nicole Kidman and Sam Niell as Rae and John Ingram, who sets sail to the Pacific Ocean and come across a near-deserted yacht boarded by Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane).
Director Phillip Noyce has made some good films over the years: Blind Fury 1989, Patriot Games (1992), Sliver (1993), Clear and Present Danger (1994), The Saint (1997), The Bone Collector (1999).The thriller Dead Calm brought Noyce his greatest acclaim in the United States and turned Nicole Kidman into a star.
I'm a fan of Billy Zane and this film is his best one.Plot of film: A couple, Australian naval officer John Ingram (Neill) and his wife Rae (Kidman), lose their son in a car crash.
The couple's holiday turns into a nightmare when they discover that Hughie's story is untrue and that he is in fact a psychopath who has murdered his crewmates.The idea for a thriller set on board a boat in the middle of the ocean was probably borrowed from Hitchcock's "Lifeboat", and "Dead Calm" clearly owes something to the great director's style.
Unlike Oliver Blackburn, however, Phillip Noyce clearly realised that, in a thriller, tension works better than do graphic depictions of sex and gruesome violence.The three main roles are all well played, especially by a young Nicole Kidman as Rae (this was the film which first brought her to international notice)and Billy Zane as the maniacal Hughie.
Billy Zane is terrifying as the disturbed young man terrorising Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill.
DEAD CALM gets off to an interesting start when SAM NEILL takes his wife (NICOLE KIDMAN) on a yachting cruise to forget the traumatic experience she's had in the recent death of their child in an auto accident.
Let's just say it keeps you in suspense until the dangerous situations are resolved and all three actors have very physically demanding roles.SAM NEILL is excellent as the husband trying to get back to his wife and BILLY ZANE is convincing enough as the lowdown heel with a bogus story about what really happened aboard the boat.
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs John and Rae Ingram (Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman) go on a boat cruise to overcome a tragic bereavement they have recently felt.However,when they pick up a bewildered stranger named Hughie Warriner (Billy Zane) they are taken on a nightmare journey of danger and peril...A 21 year old Kidman is one of the main credited cast list.Zane isn't much older.These are certainly mature roles for them to play,if not ones they are simply miscast in,Kidman especially playing the wife to a Neill 20 years her senior,making for a not entirely believable married couple.In fact,it would have been better if Zane and Kidman had been the married couple,with Neill as the psychotic lunatic terrorizing them,in the vein of Rutger Hauer in The Hitcher.Neither of them might have been very famous then,but Hollywood has always been about promoting new talent (right?) and with the right marketing I'm sure it could have brought in the crowds that would have made both their stars rise a lot quicker.In one of his earlier roles,Zane displays a certain charisma,but is still not perfect and it's not hard to see why years later,he still really only enjoys success in co-starring roles and the publicity he gets from dating Kelly Brook.Neill and Kidman carry the film adequately enough...For a film I would take to be a major studio production,it can't help but appear very cheaply filmed (in one scene night even just flicks into day within the bat of an eyelid...)I don't know if I would have thought any different of it when it first came out,but 17 years later,Dead Calm just appears to be a very unsuspenseful and droning,not to mention kinda predictable affair that failed to get me on the edge of my seat in any way at all.I've seen far more exciting films of the same ilk in that time.**.
Couple (Sam Neill & Nicole Kidman) on a yacht come upon another boat with sole survivor (Billy Zane).
Philip Noyce directed this sea thriller that stars Sam Neil & Nicole Kidman as John & Rae Ingram, an Australian couple who are vacationing on their yacht after a personal tragedy, only to come upon another as they find a lone survivor(played by Billy Zane) who tells them how their boat had an accident and sank, but when John goes over to that ship, he discovers a different reason, but by then, the survivor(named Hughie) has taken Rae hostage, and proves to be a delusional psychotic, leaving John behind, and forcing poor John & Rae to come up with a way out of this mess...
In addition to the lack of originality in the story line, I have to say that I detected no real chemistry between Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman as John and Rae (thankfully, that problem was somewhat compensated for by the fact that, in spite of the fact that their characters were married they actually had very few scenes together, since the characters spent most of the movie on the different boats.) The ending went on one scene too long, as we were forced to deal once again with the bad guy who just won't die, in spite of the fact that all the evidence says he should be dead.
When Warriner's story doesn't check out, John boards the boat; and finds his own ship and his wife sailing off into the sunset without him.My main reason for seeing this film was the fact that it stars Nicole Kidman.
Dead Calm is a movie about a married couple (Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman) sailing out to sea on their yacht for a long vacation, in order to help them get past the death of their son.
For this movie's great acting, ability to carry on many action scenes with no music (and when the music plays it is beautiful), superb setting (the open sea never looked better), and skillful use of characters and tension, I give this film *** stars out of ****.
See for yourself.Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman both do decent performances, but Billy Zane goes over the top in his role and is not very convincing..