Not to be confused with James Cameron’s 1989 film, The Abyss isn’t the worst disaster film, but it could have been so much more. Inspired by the earthquake that actually happened in the real life town of Kiruna, there’s an important story here about worker safety, responsible mining, improving emergency protocols, and preserving the environment. However, like plenty of disaster movies, the film plays out in the most predictable ways, attaching a frankly irrelevant family drama that takes time away from the terrifying, claustrophobic nightmare that could have been. It does have decent effects, and even some decent scenes, but The Abyss is more interested in using the real life earthquake to manufacture drama, rather than actually looking into the manmade disaster.
Synopsis
As the Swedish town of Kiruna sinks, Frigga finds herself torn between her family and her job as security chief at the world's largest underground mine.
Storyline
The town of Kiruna sits beside Kiirunavaara, the mountain with the world's largest underground mine. While working as the mine’s security chief, Frigga has to fight for her life and the lives of her loved ones as their town starts to collapse.
TLDR
Tuva Novotny, you deserved a better script than this.
What stands out
Thankfully, no one actually died in the real earthquake depicted in The Abyss, and in reality, the film was made so much more dramatic for entertainment purposes. But, out of everyone that could have died, did they really have to kill off that one guy playing Call of Duty and the daughter’s lesbian girlfriend?
