In the era of COVID-19, when we're keenly aware of just how small the world is and how easily disease spreads, I dare say this movie comes off a little differently. That's to say nothing of how younger generations in particular are keenly aware of how cruise ships are ecological scourges, and more to the point an absolute hotbed of illness. To the credit of writer Mel Frohman and director Brian Trenchard-Smith, one of the strengths of 'Voyage of terror' is how it accentuates early on how readily pathogens can spread. To a slightly lesser degree, limited only by the production standards of TV movies, this very ably zeroes in at its core on the all too real human drama of the scenario: the astounding selfishness and ignorance of people who, in the face of dire threats to public safety and personal health, nevertheless flagrantly and willfully defy all restrictions and safeguards that are put into place; gullibility, propaganda, misinformation, and the abject cruelty and inhumanity of those who would effectively weaponize the circumstances; the corruption and shortsightedness of folks who would seek to exploit such situations for their own interests; the complexity of crisis management; the divisions wrought between people in the face of such emergencies. Honestly, twenty-five years later, I think this this deserves a measure of reevaluation.
In 1998 the entirety of the picture surely came off as overblown, but that's simply not true any more, neither in light of the ongoing (conveniently forgotten) pandemic, nor the active disregard shown for human life by reactionary elements. That shift of perspective makes it easier to pinpoint the actual weaknesses on hand, which in fairness are no greater than what any of its television kin portend. Some of the writing comes off as overly sentimental, to the point of being maudlin, where it spotlights specific character relationships or appeals to emotion instead of centering the drama outright. Where computer graphics are employed, or CGI showing exterior shots, the artifice is glaring in the plastic sheen of late-90s software. The narrative is marginally truncated in the face of forced plot development and pacing, not to mention the editing - the minefield of the chosen medium - and I quite think that this would have benefited from being turned into a miniseries instead of a standalone film. Just as much to the point, while all the plot ideas on hand are worthy ones, and even more so considering the state of the world in 2023, I think there are too many for a mere ninety-minute runtime. All the story beats herein needed more time to be fully explored, and for lack of that time, some notions might have been best left on the cutting room floor.
In other aspects 'Voyage of terror' suffers or benefits in turn from the common weaknesses or strengths that we often see in made-for-TV features. Brahm Wenger's score is kind of bland and nondescript generally, yet is aptly ponderous in the most dramatic moments - though astoundingly ham-handed, and sounds like amateurish MIDI compositions, at the lighter points. The production design is fairly admirable, with a decent amount of detail going into the sets, costume design, props, and so on. Trenchard-Smith has been behind a number of pictures of considerable variety, some much better than others, but his direction here is overall suitable. I think the acting is just fine; no one specifically stands out, per se, even with some recognizable stars involved, but no one underwhelms or overacts, and all give appreciable performances. Despite the conventions of TV movies from this timeframe I think this is ultimately well made more than not - which makes it all the more unfortunate that the last stretch of the film emphasizes the more heavy-handedly sentimental facet of the writing, making the last proverbial taste in our mouths a bad one. It's not that Trenchard-Smith or Wenger altogether drop the ball, but it's just not a strong finish, and taken together with the other nits one can reasonably pick, the broad impression it makes is impacted in turn.
Still, it bears repeating that this title feels more timely, and hits a bit harder, now than it would have when it first premiered. Even with its faults there is a strength here that firmly keeps the whole from sinking below a certain level, and one just wishes that the production weren't operating under the constraints that it had, and that the tale could have been fleshed out more fully and meaningfully. For its quality this is hardly a must-see, and as a matter of personal preference it won't appeal to all comers. All the same, I'm a tad pleasantly surprised by how good 'Voyage of terror' is even as it falls well short of perfect. There's no reason to go out of one's way to watch, but if one can abide the customary stylistic flourishes of made-for-TV programming of this time, and happens to come across it, this is a fair way to spend a quiet afternoon.
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