While the DVD cover for The Rig (2010) would lead you to believe this is a giant monster movie in the vein of Sharktopus (2010), you’d be mistaken. The Rig has more in common with The Thing (1982) than it does anything else. So, if I was to sum up this film, I would say, “It’s like The Thing but nowhere near as good.”
The film is set upon an oil rig in the middle of nowhere where a small but experienced group of oil drillers settle up during a vicious storm. Their settle and calm is disrupted however when they discover there is a deadly creature stalking them one by one. With no communication with any other nearby rigs and surrounded by nothing but ocean, the skeletal crew must try and see out the night and survive.
The problem with The Rig is that it’s just really, really boring. It’s not scary, it’s not tense – it is just really boring. It actually starts off quite well, but it falls apart at around the 20 minute mark. It is trying to emulate classic 80s horror movies but it’s handled by people who aren’t skilled enough to pull it off. This is Peter Antencio’s first feature length movie and if you look at his IMDb resume, you’ll see that has also worked in the camera department, editing, writing and producing which means he’s a jack of all trades and a master of none.
The acting is beyond stale but the writing is much worse. The script is insanely weak and none of the characters have any depth. But with a script written by first time writers, actors, musicians and a second unit director of photography, it almost makes sense. The old saying states that too many cooks spoil the broth, but these cooks don’t even know how to make the broth. Characters have awful back stories and arches in an attempt to build character but just come off as tacked on failures.
The Rig’s weak plot doesn’t hold up for the 85 minutes and the pacing really lets the film down lower than it already was. After quite an exciting opening 20 minutes, the film slows down to a snail’s pace that does nothing but drag. There is an extended sequence where our survivors run from room A to obtain object B so they can go to point C in almost point and click adventure game style. But because none of the characters are engaging and have no personality with terrible dialogue, it’s just boring, plodding and incredibly bland.
If I was to give the film any credit, I would have to say that the on-set special effects are actually very good and the gore levels are high and impressive. I can only assume that large majority of the films budget was spent on the effect and it seems to have paid off. The deaths are the only highlight of the entire movie.
But ultimately, the film fails on almost every single level. It’s not well written, it’s badly directed but above all, it’s not scary. The tension is below the sea level that the rig is placed upon and the film is not entertaining in the slightest. The Rig is a really, really bad and boring movie.
