Holding an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score, the 2019 film is basically an Irish version of Alien.
Our TV movie pick for tonight (Friday, 9 May) is Sea Fever, the excellent 2019 Irish sci-fi thriller from writer-director Neasa Hardiman (Happy Valley, Jessica Jones).
The film centres around a solitary marine biology student named Siobhán (Hermione Corfield) who is assigned to hop on board The Niamh Cinn Óir, a commercial fishing boat sailing off the Irish west coast.
Captained by a married couple (Connie Nielsen and Dougray Scott), Siobhán’s task is to photograph the vessel’s catch for abnormalities.
The student’s presence on The Niamh sparks tension amongst the crew, which also includes the ship’s engineer (Ardalan Esmaili) and its cook (Olwen Fouéré).
These stress levels only rise, however, when The Niamh’s cash-strapped captains sail into forbidden waters in an effort to get a bigger catch.
There, they encounter a mysterious, dangerous and unprecedented life-form.
Essentially an Irish version of Alien, Sea Fever earned rave reviews and currently holds an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score.
In particular, the movie earned praise for its claustrophobic setting, its near-constantly tense atmosphere, its mysterious central threat and the script’s themes about the clash between humans and nature, as well as science and superstition.
Sea Fever was released amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, which was noteworthy because the film includes an infection plotline.
Due to the pandemic, however, Hardiman’s movie probably did not get the audience it deserved and is ripe for discovery.
Sea Fever is airing on TV tonight on RTÉ2 at 9.50pm. It’s also currently streaming on Disney+.
Here are the other movies airing on TV tonight:
Mission: Impossible – ITV4 – 9pm
Tom Cruise’s first outing as super spy Ethan Hunt is also on TV tonight at 9.40pm on Sky Showcase.
Moonfall – Film4 – 9pm
The moon is falling, which is bad news for Earth in this fun, if silly, disaster flick starring Halle Berry from the director of The Day After Tomorrow.
Paul – E4 – 9pm
Nick Frost and Simon Pegg star in this sci-fi comedy as two comic book lovers going on a road trip across the USA who come across an alien (voiced by Seth Rogen).
Flight of the Intruder – Legend – 9pm
Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe and Brad Johnson headline this ’90s war film from legendary cult filmmaker John Milius (Apocalypse Now, Conan the Barbarian).
Drive Hard – Legend Xtra – 9pm
In this direct-to-video action buddy flick, a professional thief (John Cusack) takes a former race car driver (Thomas Jane) hostage and forces him to drive his getaway car.
Let Him Go – TG4 – 9.15pm
Kevin Costner and Diane Lane star in this well-liked 2020 neo-Western thriller about an older couple looking to save their daughter-in-law and grandson from a dangerous situation.
Crank 2: High Voltage – Legend Xtra – 10.55pm
Jason Statham stars in one of the craziest action movies ever made.
La La Land – BBC Two – 11pm
“City of stars. Are you shining just for me?”
The Family Man – RTÉ One – 11.15pm
Nicolas Cage is… the family man in this romantic fantasy comedy-drama.
Eye of the Tiger – Legend – 11.15pm
In this ’80s action flick, a Vietnam War veteran (Gary Busey) returns home from prison and sets out to clean up his hometown, which has come under the control of a violent motorcycle gang.
The Shape of Water – Film4 – 11.35pm
An Oscar Best Picture winner, this gorgeous romantic fantasy film centres on a lonely janitor (Sally Hawkins) working at a top-secret research facility in the ’60s who forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature (Doug Jones) being held in captivity.
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