The Abyss – 1989 (WINNER)
My opinion of this movie is a bit biased because it is one of my top five favorite science fiction films of all time. I’ll do my best to look at its special effects with an objective eye and not simply gush about how incredible the effects were, not to mention the movie itself.
Most of the movie takes place far below the surface of the ocean. There were many scenes that had to be filmed underwater. There were divers in and out of wet-suits, deep-sea vehicles, and submersible drones. But were these really special effects, or were they just amazing set pieces and expensive props? But aside from those things, director James Cameron also used some truly groundbreaking CGI effects that showed audiences things they had never seen before.
To be sure, the underwater stunts and dive filming were impressive, but I think it was the stunning CGI effects that won the film its Best Visual Effects Award, the most memorable of which was the scene in which the underwater aliens create a massive water tentacle in order to explore the underwater drilling rig. They also used it to establish communication with the people trying to survive inside of it. The tentacle was a flowing column of water that moved like a snake through the corridors of the rig. Then when it encountered the people, it shaped itself into the likenesses of the actors’ faces. Movie CGI effects were still pretty new, but I think the solid liquid effects still hold water (sorry) even by today’s standards.
And then there were the aliens themselves. Their magically luminescent appearances were the perfect combination of beautiful and mysterious, evoking the feel and strangeness of real creatures of the deep that we know actually exist. But they also made them alien enough to allow us to believe that they were not of this world. They had technology that glowed in shades of pink, purple, and blue, much like the world created for Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster, Avatar.
This beautiful effect is spectacularly displayed in one of my favorite scenes in the film. The first time the aliens approach Lindsey, played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, their ethereal and yet clearly technological designs are amazingly displayed. When she reaches up and touches one of them, it glitters and sparkles like something magical. It was just beautifully filmed.
But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the underwater vehicle battle. In one of the great action sequences in the film, a man who was suffering extreme paranoia from high-pressure nervous syndrome. He has stolen the large flatbed craft, but Lindsey has taken control of a smaller submersible. The two crash into each other and smash each other into rock walls, until they are both too damaged to continue fighting. When the flatbed falls into the abysmal trench, it only takes a few seconds for the immense pressure to crack the glass of the craft’s front window. The vessel then violently implodes, instantly killing the insane occupant. All these things make it easy to see why this movie won the Oscar for this category.