Jacob, a Vietnam vet played by Tim Robbins, starts having hallucinations about demons all around him. That's about it for 90% of the movie, him and his paranoia and hallucinatory tentacles.
Towards the end, the writer tries to introduce a feeble plot about how Jacob and his old war buddies might have been victims of an army experiment involving drugs used to increase their combat performance. Supposedly, the government is covering up this misguided experiment. Unfortunately, this plot attempt barely takes its first breath before sinking beneath the sea of Jacob's angst.
Finally, Jacob has a seizure or gets injured or something (I forget the details) and ends up in a hospital, where he has lots of hallucinations involving the doctors being demons. His chiropractor (that's right, played by Danny Aiello) comes to the hospital to save him.
After a few bone wrenchings, the chiropractor convinces Jacob that the demons he sees are actually some kind of subliminal message that he's sending to himself, and if he can figure out the message, the demons will go away or turn into angels or some such.
So, Jacob figures out he's really still in Vietnam, lying on a cot in a MASH unit, dying. His entire life (this whole useless movie) has been a figment of his deranged last moments of imagination. Then he croaks.
The movie ends with a vague (and highly questionable) remark about how the US Government actually did test combat drugs on combat troops in Vietnam without their knowledge. As if trying to claim this movie was some kind of moral or political statement would change my mind about how horrid it was.
Boring...pointless...meaningless...excruciatingly painful...worst 2 hours I've ever spent in front of a TV. I don't know if Mike and the bots could save it.
Ted Collins, tcollins@qcom.netIn any event -- Martin Brody (J1, J2) has died of a heart attack; according to his wife (a remarkably useless Lorraine Gary), the attack was brought on by his continually having to fight sharks (I think it had more to do with his hearing that they were making *another* *bloody* *flick*!). After yet another unsuspecting Brody is turned into lunch meat by one of the Toothy Bretheren, Mama Brody finally gets the idea that maybe moving away from Amity might be a wise idea (*NO*.). So, where does she move? Nebraska? North Dakota? Idaho?
No.
Would you believe *THE* *BAHAMAS*?! (Sweet pick -- *surround* yourself with water perfectly suited for the creature you're trying to escape! One wonders if that background sound is Darwin cartwheeling in his grave.)
She hooks up with one of her kids, who is doing research with a local sea-goon (Mario Van Peebles demonstrating why he never gets good film roles) and a local ferry pilot (Michael Caine -- no more info is needed here). No sooner has she settled in than -- yep -- people start getting fished to death. There is the ObTryingToAvoidFate, followed by the ObClimacticBattle, and the ObGoofyAssDeathForTheShark (impaled w/ the broken bowsprit of a fast-moving motor yacht).
Things to watch for, when one is not spewing like a beer can just pulled from a paint mixer:
We are talking a new dimension (specifically, underwater) to _*DEEP*_ *HURTING*.
Chris French, csadn@ix.netcom.comAs I watched this stinker, I said to my friend, "This is a movie we'll see on MST3K sometime soon." If you saw it, you know what I'm talking about. If not, well, you have to see for yourself. Major plot holes, bad acting all around, and a few scenes that just make no sense whatsoever.
Phil Catelinet, catelinp@gunet.georgetown.edu Rebuttal