What Happened to The Abyss: James Cameron’s Most Brutal Production
On the back of The Terminator and Aliens, James Cameron could have made any movie he wanted. Instead, he chose to make the most physically grueling shoot of his entire career, something that was literally impossible to create with the technology available at the time. The production would push the limits of special effects and pave the way for films like Titanic and Terminator 2: Judgment Day in the years to come. But in the moment, it left actors punching holes in walls on set and openly comparing the experience to being a soldier in Vietnam during the press tour. Cameron, in response, called the actors pampered babies. Meanwhile, a movie studio sat on the sidelines waiting for the finished product while rival studios cashed in on a 1989 summer box office feeding frenzy. All of this was worth the wait for a James Cameron science-fiction epic sure to break box office records… right? Wrong. That Brinks truck full of James Cameron cash never came. This is what happened to The Abyss.
The Inspiration Behind The Abyss
While attending a science seminar in high school, James Cameron listened to a presenter describe an experiment in which a subject successfully breathed liquid through their lungs. That idea stuck with him. Years later, it became the foundation for a fictional story that would eventually evolve into a movie treatment.
Cameron replaced the scientists in his original concept with blue-collar oil workers and told a story about a group forced to descend into the deep—and confront their own human nature in the process. He titled the film The Abyss, seemingly inspired by Nietzsche’s famous quote: “If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.”
Casting the Descent
The cast was led by Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. They were backed by a strong supporting roster, including Leo Burmester and Todd Graff. Character actors filled out the crew, including Halloween II’s Dick Warlock, best known as Michael Myers, who plays Dwight Perry, a character killed when the oil rig floods. Warlock also served as a stunt coordinator on the film.
This group of men and women would need their real-life camaraderie to survive a punishing shoot, nearly 40 percent of which took place underwater.
Note: Excellent behind-the-scenes footage can be found in this documentary.
An Underwater Nightmare
Cameron spent ten to twelve hours a day underwater filming and nearly drowned during one incident. The shoot was so pressure-packed that he sometimes had to watch dailies while hanging upside down underwater during two-hour decompression sessions, a process necessary to prevent decompression sickness as nitrogen exits the body.
The “above water” cinematography was handled by Backdraft DP Mikael Salomon. For the underwater work, Cameron brought in Al Giddings, who had prior aquatic filming experience on 1977’s The Deep. Giddings’ work was supervised by Salomon.
The production took over an abandoned power plant in Gaffney, South Carolina. Cameron discovered an unused nuclear reactor containment structure more than 50 feet deep and 200 feet wide. This became the film’s primary water tank, something Cameron later admitted may have been more expensive than building one from scratch.
Inventing Technology on the Fly
Special helmets were designed so actors could safely perform underwater while still showing their entire faces, allowing them to emote naturally. A first-of-its-kind underwater PA system was built so Cameron could communicate with actors, and another system was created to record dialogue spoken inside the helmets.
Custom HMI lighting rigs had to be invented. Cameron’s engineer brother, Mike Cameron, built underwater propulsion vehicles with working thrusters so James could move freely while filming. Remotely operated vehicles and quarter-scale models were constructed for the violent submersible collisions between Bud Brigman and Lieutenant Coffey.
For the carrier ship, the miniature was so large it required a Coast Guard license number to enter open water.
Yes, That Rat Is Really Breathing Liquid
In the unforgettable scene where a rat breathes liquid, you are literally watching a rat breathe liquid. Cameron consulted the same Duke University researchers who inspired his high school epiphany, followed their instructions, and filmed the experiment live in front of the crew.
Ed Harris used the rat’s distress as emotional reference for his own scene. Both Harris and the rat were unharmed.
Creating the NTIs and Groundbreaking Visual Effects
The Non-Terrestrial Intelligences (NTIs) were created using translucent puppets mounted on rods, allowing their “wings” to flow naturally underwater. For the iconic water-tentacle communication scene, Industrial Light & Magic built a translucent “water snake,” a visual effect unlike anything seen before.
On set, the effect was simulated with something resembling a dryer hose. ILM then used inverted water bottle photography to inspire the fluid motion. Facial scans of the actors were digitally mapped onto the water being, a sequence that took roughly seven months to complete.
This breakthrough laid the groundwork for effects later seen in Terminator 2. An early version of Photoshop was even used; software that would later be sold to Adobe.
They don’t make movies like this anymore. They just don’t.
Night Shoots, Black Beads, and Breaking Points
To simulate deep ocean darkness, the production floated 20 tons of black polyester beads on the water’s surface. When a massive tent meant to block sunlight was destroyed by wind, Cameron made the call to shoot exclusively at night.
This obliterated circadian rhythms and increased the risk of dangerous underwater accidents involving electrical equipment. Tensions escalated.
Michael Biehn later recalled actors being held in makeup for hours without shooting. Ed Harris famously responded to a press question about the experience by saying, “That’s like asking a soldier how he was treated in Vietnam.”
Cameron, unmoved, called actors “poor babies” and said he had no sympathy for waiting around.
The shoot ran five weeks over schedule, and the worst problems were still ahead.
The Ending That Almost Wasn’t
Originally, the NTIs were meant to send massive tidal waves toward coastlines worldwide, stopping them only after witnessing Bud Brigman’s sacrifice. When test audiences reacted negatively, largely due to unfinished effects, the sequence was cut entirely.
A Fox executive told Cameron he could either finish the film immediately or personally explain it in 1,200 theaters, four times a day.
Cameron later received $500,000 to complete the effects for a longer cut, which was restored in the Special Edition home release.
Box Office Fallout and Legacy
The Abyss was delayed repeatedly, with its budget reportedly ballooning from $33 million to as high as $70 million. Cameron admitted he worked for half his usual fee to cover additional effects costs.
When released, the film opened in second place with under $10 million and grossed just over $90 million worldwide. Not a disaster, but far from expectations after The Terminator and Aliens.
Critics praised the technical achievements but criticized the finale. Newsweek called it “pretty damn silly,” while the Los Angeles Times described it as “watered down.”
Still, The Abyss earned Oscar nominations for Art Direction, Cinematography, and Sound, and won Best Visual Effects.
Decades later, aided by an exceptional 4K restoration, the film continues to find new fans. Even today, it’s astonishing to realize this was made in 1989 and remains more technically impressive than most modern films.
The Abyss isn’t just a filmmaking miracle. It’s proof of what’s possible. And that is what happened to The Abyss.
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