The Abyss (Cameron 1989)
Teens
Adults
For the big kids and adults that like sci-fi thrillers with a bit of the supernatural mixed in, check out James Cameron’s masterpiece The Abyss:
A deepwater oil crew partners with a SEAL team to search for and recover a sunken American submarine — both groups unprepared for what they find in the depths of the ocean.
This movie is one of my favorites and highlights how little we actually know about our own world. The majority of oceans are largely unexplored, and less understood than many distant stars and planets. Yet the ocean is right outside, begging to be discovered.
The Abyss is probably too intense for the youngsters, but in general it should be appropriate to view for many families, with a couple caveats:
There is some mild swearing and some violent scenes. And there is a scene in which the breasts of a dead body are briefly exposed during a medical procedure (not sexualized or anything weird). And it is about a sunken submarine, so there are dead bodies.
The filmmaking, acting, and special effects are all top notch. Especially the special effects when compared to the pervasive digital effects in most movies being made today. I think this film is Cameron’s best work, by a country mile. Not that his other movies are bad. It’s just that The Abyss (and T2) are on another level as far as narrative storytelling.
Your family will get a kick out of it, and it shouldn’t cause any awkward conversations. Instead you’ll be treated with hours of discussion revolving around the mysteries of the ocean’s unexplored regions.
Thank you so much for your interest in Family Movie Night. If you find this content valuable, please make sure to share with your friends and family across the interwebs.
If you have any movies you’d like to see featured in the newsletter, please be sure to let us know! Also keep an eye out for the upcoming home theater guide!
And if you haven’t subscribed, sign up today to be notified when new movie/series profiles are added to the repository.
If you haven’t tried Prime, you can get a 30 day trial here, or check out the steep discounts for students or those on government assistance.