Felt like a cheaper underwater version of Alien, but still worth the watch

I'm fine with movies not aging so well, but the blatant misogyny in this movie was uncomfortable even for me. Some really bad directorial work in places, and odd editing. The creature was cool and puppeteered nicely when it was fully formed. I really enjoyed Peter Weller's and Richard Crenna's acting, but the rest of the cast were awkward.

It's okay. Bit like aliens but without a good climax

Just finished Leviathan. For most of the movie I kept thinking, “Have I seen this before, or am I just mixing it up with every other underwater sci-fi monster movie from that period?” But yes, this was the one. Not The Abyss, not The Rift, but Leviathan. People often call it “Alien under water,” but honestly I think it is closer to The Thing, especially the 1982 version. Not because it reaches the same level, but because the horror is more about mutation, infection, body horror, and something biological going very wrong, rather than just one creature stalking people through dark corridors. Where Alien still completely destroys this movie is in visual identity. The Nostromo feels like a real dirty workplace in space. The computers, lighting, sound, corridors, darkness, and industrial design all feel like one complete world. The funny thing is that Leviathan is newer than Alien, but some of the computers and props actually feel older. There is that kind of old “computer that is almost a typewriter with a screen and drives on the side” look, and it screams real 80s tech more than future underwater base. The effects in Leviathan are not always bad, but they do feel cheaper. The shock moments are more like, “Look, here is our gross effect,” while Alien builds atmosphere first and lets darkness, sound, timing, and tension do the heavy lifting. That is why Alien still hits much harder, even when it shows less. The acting is also mixed. For me, Richard Crenna is easily the strongest actor in the movie. He has a different kind of calmness and weight compared to most of the others. The rest feel more like standard B-movie characters, where you remember the concept and the monster more than the people. So overall, Leviathan is not a bad movie, but it is not on the level of the classics it clearly borrows from. It is more of a solid underwater B-movie with a bit of Alien structure, a bit of The Thing mutation/body horror, and a lot of late-80s sci-fi horror atmosphere. Not amazing, but not a waste of time either if you like old monster movies, underwater bases, mutations, and that kind of dark sci-fi where everything feels wet, old, industrial, and doomed.