Thankfully the version I saw had the nastyness edited out. I wasn't aware of that aspect and had it been in there I would have stopped watching. The plot of this movie was good: the enemy possessing an edge with new technology vs a seasoned sub Captain with an experimental scanning system. The acting was great. All the sets including the submarine interiors were excellent. What fell short was some, not all of the underwater scenes of the submarines, primarily the enemy stealth sub. Other than that it was a great movie.

I caught this under the title PHANTOM BELOW. It's a routine TV movie with the plot of a typical submarine thriller, with HIGHLANDER's Adrian Paul playing a captain who must navigate through hostile waters and figure out how to play his part during a conflict with North Korea. I watched this out of interest because it was directed by the wonderful Brian Trenchard-Smith, of AZTEC REX and TURKEY SHOOT fame, but sadly it's one of his most pedestrian efforts.

Usually I am so profoundly put off by cheap-looking CGI and poor matte work that I find myself wholly unable to suspend the necessary disbelief to settle back into the movie, but in the exceptional case of 'Phantom Below' I found the robust narrative to be enjoyably tense and my yen for deeply absorbing submariner combat was more than adequately met. Stolid acting performances abound, with an especially creditable display of military stoicism by handsome Adrian Paul as the greatly beleaguered Captain Frank Hapley, whose pristine reputation is now very much under threat as his superiors actively refute his ardent claims that during his last ostensibly peaceful mission their submarine was actively stalked by another rogue, hitherto undocumented vessel, one mysteriously cloaked with next generation stealth capabilities! With its alacritous narrative bolstered by a palpable sense of relentlessly encroaching threat, experienced action director Brian Trenchard-Smith keeps the immersive story bouyant right until its satisfying climax, and budgetary limitations notwithstanding, this made for exciting, if not exactly essential deep sea entertainment. (The version of the film I saw was entitled 'Phantom Below' which I have since discovered is heavily edited to remove all the gay content.)