The Abyss

‘The Abyss’ is set in a tranquil coastal town in Sicily, where the vacation of a tourist couple is disrupted by the tragic and mysterious drowning of the woman. Tormented by an insatiable thirst for the truth, James Campbell, a famous 45-year-old writer, seeks to shed light on the dramatic fate of his wife, Thea. Despite an invitation from his daughter Sophia to return to America for the funeral, James decides to stay and unravel the mystery. A week after the incident, James discovers an article mentioning a similar event that occurred in 2002: another tourist couple, who were staying at the same hotel where the writer is staying, were found dead at sea by a local fisherman. James meets the elderly fisherman who had discovered those bodies years ago and who recites him an enigmatic nursery rhyme about the legend of the "sugghiu", a sea creature from local folklore that emerges from the ocean only at night. According to the elderly man, the sugghiu is the true culprit behind Thea's death. Meanwhile, James notices a mysterious man observing them from a distance. James returns to the hotel and discusses the meaning of this legend with Marco Grimaldi, the young hotel owner. He also asks Marco if it's possible for him to procure a gun because he confides in Marco about feeling pursued by the man who follows him everywhere. That same night, James experiences an increasingly grotesque and unsettling situation. After a series of strange events, including a vivid nightmare where he envisions a monster attacking Thea and a sinister encounter with the mysterious man, James goes back down to the bar. After drinking a cocktail prepared by Marco, he loses consciousness and collapses on the floor. While in a catatonic state, James has another nightmare and finds himself on the same beach where his wife's body was discovered. From the ocean emerges the hybrid creature – an abhorrent, amorphous being, part reptile and part amphibian – that lunges at him, biting his neck. James opens his eyes and realizes he's bound and gagged to a chair in an underground laboratory. Here, he meets the mysterious man and Marco's father, Dr. Grimaldi, who is in cahoots with his son Marco in conducting secret experiments on tourists. Their goal is to find the perfect experimental serum to create a flawless hybrid creature. It is revealed that James' nightmares and cognitive alterations were the result of a previous injection, which briefly transformed him into the creature that killed Thea. The Doctor administers him another serum, which he believes is improved and free of side effects, but it unexpectedly has an immediate reaction on James. Fueled by rage and transformed into a superhuman hybrid creature, James kills both the Doctor and Marco, then heads toward the ocean. The following morning, he is found by the elderly fisherman, who helps him resurface and climb onto his boat. James regurgitates water and sand and has skin marked by significant peeling. He tells the fisherman that he has discovered the truth, and the old man responds that he had warned him about the sugghiu. Upon hearing these words, James breaks down in uncontrollable tears, while the old man begins paddling towards the shore.