‘Sea Fever’ dives into conflict between isolated people threatened by infection
Superstition tangles with science in Neasa Hardiman’s “Sea Fever,” a watery, undersea take on “The Thing” or “The Thing from Another World.” Ambitious but awkward scientist Siobhan (Hermione Corfield) takes to an Irish fishing boat for a research expedition, where her presence aboard is initially seen as an inconvenience, then a bad omen, once she reveals her brilliant ginger hair. But no amount of luck is going to save the crew when they become entangled with a mysterious creature from the deep.
A salty, stern and religious couple, Gerard (Dougray Scott) and Freya (Connie Nielsen) helm the old vessel, casting a wary eye at Siobhan’s research. But her expertise comes in handy once the vessel becomes caught by some kind of giant squid with barnacle tentacles that ooze a foreboding blue goo that eats through the hull. You’ll squirm extra every time that gunk squishes onto a surface. Infection, it’s so hot right now.
Not to place this review, and the film, into too static a cultural moment, but “Sea Fever,” about a group of isolated people stuck at sea with a rapidly escalating parasitic infection wiping them out one by one, is a fascinating watch in the time of COVID-19. As a researcher looking at behavioral patterns, Siobhan’s fellow crew mates become her research subjects. She observes how they react to the crisis, reading their reactions and questioning their motives.
Her pleading and reasoning is eerily reminiscent of many of the coronavirus canaries in the coal mine. She asks them for transparency and honesty, to be given the chance to aggressively attack the microscopic invaders and quarantine the crew away from land.
“Sea Fever,” which refers to the kind of cabin fever suffered by sailors, is a sturdy little thriller, punctuated by a few juicy horrific moments. Hardiman effectively builds suspense but she doesn’t go for the kind of Kurt Russellstyle heroics of “The Thing,” especially with a modest and socially awkward scientist as our heroine. Rather, Siobhan’s heroics are quietly determined, acted on alone and with little fanfare.
“Sea Fever” only momentarily touches the highest registers of operatic bloody horrors and outlandish fantasy sci-fi. Rather, it remains in the realm of the moral, the ethical, the human-scaled losses and decisions, which makes for just as, if not more, torturous personal quandaries. It’s an absorbing (if sometimes muted) wrestle with the notions of ethics and infection, in a moment that couldn’t be more appropriate.
‘SEA FEVER’ 2.5 stars. Cast: Hermione Corfield, Dougray Scott, Connie Nielsen, Olwen Fouere, Jack Hickey, Ardalan Esmaili, Elie Bouakaze. Directed by Neasa Hardiman. Running time: 1 hour, 29 minutes. Available On Demand and on digital platforms.