MovieChat Forums > Leviathan (1989) Discussion > copycat?

copycat?

posted 21 years ago by yojimbo34
15 replies | jump to latest

I've gotta say I have a weird love for this movie, although it is not all that good. But I hope I'm not alone in noticing that it has a whole lot of similarities to Alien, It, The Thing, The Abyss, and...well I guess if you combined all these films it would be Leviathan.
And who else is mad that Ernie Hudson bites the dust in the end? Here we have a movie where the black guy has made it all the way through, and then suddenly it's as if Cosmatos realized he hadn't killed of the token black guy yet, so they throw in some sharks to do the job. Please, I like any movie where mr. Hudson makes it to the end.

[–] gregor-43 18 years ago

This is an almost *complete* rip-off of Alien & Aliens.

From the eyeless eels, the traitorous "Doc", the blue-collar workers grumbling about their pay, the derelict ship, the Machiavellian "Company", the sets, the look of the suits--to the countdown to destruction at the end--it's a complete and unabashed rip off.

I think what happened is the studio got a few production stills from "The Abyss" (same year) and thought "Hmm... looks like Alien, but underwater! Let's greenlight that one!" Hence, Leviathan. [Same story possibly with Deep Star 6 which I haven't seen]

Ever wonder how you get 2 [or more] identical movies released within months of each other? It's corporate espionage and outright theft. Look at Dreamworks' crappy "Bug's Life"-rip-off "Ants."

I used to hear folks sayy things like, "THEY must know there's about to be a meteor impact because THEY released 'Deep Impact' and 'Armageddon' the same year!" Or "Mission to Mars" and "Red Planet" and so on.

The one redeeming moment were the sharks at the end. That *was* a surprise. I laughed so hard my drink shot thru my nose.

*Spoiler Warning*
The other redeeming moment was the ultra-low angle shot of Amanda Pays' fanny as she swims upwards to safety.