ZombieDog’s rating: The ancient ones have taken notice.

ZombieDog’s review: There is a huge difference between a bad movie and B-movie. Bad movies are just bad and you forget about them shortly after you watch them. For example, The Asylum film studio deliberately makes bad movies by pursuing, let’s call it, “releasing opportunities.” When Pacific Rim came out in 2013, Asylum simultaneously released Atlantic Rim with the hope that viewers either chose the wrong one or grabbed it out of desperation because the real one was not available.

Unlike bad movies, B-movies are lightning in a bottle and represent a bizarre combination of passion and persistence. After all, not everybody can be Steven Spielberg or Martin Scorsese and that’s fine. Gods of the Deep is neither rare nor unique, yet it is a true B-movie in the sense of an Ed Wood-style film.

Unlike Asylum’s mockbusters, Gods of the Deep is an actual attempt to make a movie. It focuses on scientists making a discovery in the deepest part of the ocean — a seemingly man-made gigantic doorway. They gather a motley crew of explorers from universities and start the descent into the depths. As it turns out, going to the deepest part of the ocean is not without its dangers, and it doesn’t take long for things to start going wrong as they grow closer to a very angry being.

Mostly this is an original story inspired by the Cthulhu mythos. Hey credit where credit is due — at least they tried to add something original while reinterpreting some of Lovecraft’s work. I do feel as though Lovecraft’s treasure trove of horror and suspense has never been fully and capably explored. I have only seen two movies that truly did him justice: In the Mouth of Madness (1994), and The Void (2016).

The real star this of movie is the so-called “submarine.” As I pointed out earlier Ed Wood would be proud. This vehicle feels as though it was put together on a stage by a moderately skilled group of carpenters who were given the bare minimum to buy materials. You can actually see the particleboard that is supposed to be airtight water hatches put together with two-dollar hinges. This may sound like criticism and making fun, but in all honesty, this is the furthest thing from that. No, this movie is an Oscar quality, yet it shows that there are people who are capable of making something original for next to nothing. As for the less than convincing sets, I hate to tell you this, but Godzilla wasn’t destroying actual Tokyo in those early films. It was all cardboard!

B-movies are not just campy and weird, they are an entire culture unto themselves. There’s a kind of passion that permeates the desire to make a movie. You could say it’s for fame or money, but I would have to say something else. The act of creation is wonderfully cathartic. Although I’m certain that there are dreams of making it big, whatever that means.

What I read most about in film production, where any creative work is being done, is the creative energy that permeates the project. Being around those groups of people who are committed to creating. I would say one of the best examples of this is the Shaw Brothers, who were part of the Hong Kong cinema movement. Their passion to make kung fu movies was boundless, even if their budget wasn’t. They edited in-camera, engaged in guerrilla filmmaking, and all the while nursing dreams of filmmaking. Jackie Chan came out of this environment, and when you hear him talk about it, it’s completely different than when he talks about making movies in Hollywood. Those were his golden days, and he remembers them fondly.

Midway through my review, I realized that I had questions that simply were not being answered. So I contacted the production company (Dark Temple Motion Pictures) and in return caught the main force behind the production itself: Charlie Steeds, who holds the titles of writer, producer, editor, and director. Already with multiple films underneath his belt, Steeds told me that with a sub-100K budget he was still able to pull together and afford a group of professional actors. And pros they are, indeed. I looked up their IMDb’s and all of the actors had greater than 10 credits (with some had as high as 50).

Gods of the Deep is mainly set in two locations. One of these locales was repurposed from a previous movie, and the submarine set was completely built in a nuclear fallout shelter. Steeds also said that about 25 pages of the script had to be cut due to budgetary constraints. Unfortunately, he felt as though that made the film weaker because there were huge gaps in plot and storyline.

So what’s the verdict on Gods of the Deep? Put it this way: If you go down to your local bar to hear some garage band, would you expect to hear some finely polished well-seasoned music? Or would it be more realistic to say that you would expect to hear some passionate effort mixed with some extreme rough edges? Mr. Steeds is willing and able to give it his best try, but this film is a low-budget independent B-Movie — which is really all you need to know.

What I’m really asking is that you keep an open mind. Not just for Mr. Steeds, but any movie that you come across. It may seem that creativity is infinite, it’s not. Creativity needs to be nurtured and supported. It won’t be long before a series of keystrokes will enable an AI to create a Tolkienesque epic. Human creativity at that point will be seen for the commodity it is.

If you love B-movies, then let me suggest making time to not just support up-and-coming directors but nurturing the cult of B-movie lovers. All that being said, the true joy of B-movies is not that they let our imaginations run wild, it’s that they run with us.