The Abyss

The Abyss is a 1989 American science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. The original musical score was composed by Alan Silvestri. It was released on August 9, 1989 in North America.

Underwater scenes were filmed in the containment building of Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant, an unfinished nuclear power plant near Gaffney, South Carolina, in the United States. It took seven million gallons (26.5 million liters) of water to fill the tank to a depth of 40 feet (12 m), making it the largest underwater filming set ever constructed. The depth and length of time spent underwater meant that the cast and crew sometimes had to go through decompression. Filming was also done at the largest underground lake in the world — a mine in Bonne Terre, Missouri, which was the background for several underwater shots.

Plot

An American ballistic missile submarine, the USS Montana, sinks near the edge of the Cayman Trough after an accidental encounter with an unidentified submerged object. As Soviet ships and submarines head towards the area in an attempt to salvage the sub, and with a hurricane moving in, the Americans decide that the quickest way to mount a rescue is for a SEAL team to be inserted onto a privately owned experimental underwater oil platform, which they will then use as their base of operations. The designer of the platform, Dr. Lindsey Brigman (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), insists on accompanying the SEAL team, even though her estranged husband, Virgil "Bud" Brigman (Ed Harris), is currently serving as the platform's foreman.

As the SEALS and the platform crew attempt to discover the cause of the Montana's failure, they spot strange creatures they can't identify, later discovering they have intelligence and calling them "NTI's"—"non-terrestrial intelligence." On orders from the SEAL leader Lt. Hiram Coffey (Michael Biehn), the SEALs use one of the platform's mini-subs to retrieve a warhead from a Trident missile aboard the Montana. However, they do so at an inopportune time, as the hurricane strikes the surface and they are unable to detether themselves from the surface ship the Benthic Explorer. Tossed by the storm, the Explorer's crane and cable system snap off and fall into the water. The cable and crane barely miss the platform as they sink, but fall into the trench, its momentum briefly pulling the whole platform towards the trench - the rig catches on the very edge of the cliff, preventing a plummet into the depths. Several crew are lost because of flooding in the platform, while the surviving crew and SEALs tend to their injuries and attempt to restore the platform's critical power.

An NTI, in the form of a living column of water, explores the platform, and while the platform crew believe it to be harmless, Coffey sees it as a threat. The platform crew realize Coffey is suffering from High Pressure Nervous Syndrome, making him paranoid. Using one of the remote operated vehicles to spy on Coffey from outside the platform, they discover he is planning on sending the warhead down into the chasm to destroy whatever may be down there. Bud attempts to subdue Coffey before he can leave the platform in one of the mini-subs, but is unable to do so. Coffey is chased by Bud and Lindsey in the station's other sub; they manage to damage Coffey's sub, causing it to fall into the trench, where Coffey's sub is eventually crushed by the pressure. However, Bud and Lindsey are too late to stop the remote vehicle and the attached warhead, on a pre-programmed course, from dropping into the trench. Furthermore, their own sub's hull has been ruptured, flooding the sub. Lindsey forces Bud to wear the only diving suit in the sub, while she hopes that her mammalian diving reflex will preserve her in the cold water while Bud tows her back to the platform. Bud and the crew are able to resuscitate Lindsey, and the two reaffirm their lost love.

As Lindsey recovers, the crew tracks the warhead, finding the remote vehicle has failed from the pressure and stopped on a ledge partway down the trench. The SEALs have brought with them special diving equipment utilizing a liquid breathing apparatus that would allow for a human to dive that far. Bud volunteers; he will not be able to talk and is instead forced to communicate through a keypad on his suit. Bud begins his dive into the trench, reaching the ledge where the warhead sits, and is guided by the SEALs in disarming it. However, the dive has taken too long for Bud to return back to the top of the trench before the oxygen in the liquid runs out. Bud, aware this could happen, and despite Lindsey's pleas to return, decides to remain on the ledge, typing his love to Lindsey in a final message.

As Bud watches, bright lights appear below him, and he encounters more NTIs, who direct him even further down to their massive craft sitting deep in the trench. The NTIs provide Bud with an atmosphere for him to breathe. They then show him, through a view screen, several videos taken from television news of humanity's destructive behavior; Bud attempts to atone for humanity's mistakes. They follow this by showing Bud's last messages of self-sacrifice and devotion to his wife that he typed out.

On the platform, believing Bud to be dead, Lindsey and the crew are surprised to find Bud replying back to them, telling them to get ready. The crew observe something very large quickly rising out of the trench, and see the lights from the NTI ship as it rises. The enormous ship eventually surfaces, lifting many of the naval ships out of the water and leaving them aground on the NTI ship's hull, as well as the platform itself. The platform crew and remaining SEALS, leaving the platform onto the surface of the ship, are surprised to find they are fine and not suffering from decompression sickness after rising so fast out of the water, believing it to be an effect by the NTIs. Bud emerges from the NTI ship, and he and Lindsey rush to meet each other, engaging in a passionate kiss.
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Special Edition

The special edition includes more of the conflict between the United States and Soviet forces over the crash of the Montana, each side initially blaming the other for it. When Bud arrives on the NTI ship and is shown the images of humanity's destructive behavior, the NTIs create enormous megatsunami-level waves that threaten every coastline, but then stall them moments before they would come crashing down. After showing Bud his messages of self-sacrifice and caring and believing humanity to be capable of the same, the NTIs cause the standing waves to dissipate harmlessly, after which they start to bring their ship to the surface.

Despite the fact that James Cameron had final cut on the original theatrical version and most all cuts were decided by him, the extended version is often mislabeled as a "director's cut".