The Abyss is one of those films that you either know about and have a set opinion about or don’t know or remember that well and can’t really speak to. It had its fair share of drawback and issues when filming but it was overall a kind of masterpiece that allowed special effects to take another leap forward and deliver something that was cutting edge for its time and yet really misunderstood by a lot of people. The film had a few great actors and was more than ready to break into the big time but somehow just got lost in the mix after a while and left to its own devices. It still stands as one of the better films ever made, but at this time it’s kind of an oddity more than a true classic to many.
James Cameron needed a set that was aquatic and safe to film in, and he eventually stumbled upon this abandoned nuclear power plant that had been erected and then left by a power company that was attempting build a new location. You can see in the circular structure one area that he used for filming, and it’s presumed that the other area just next to it was the second location.
Cameron was looking for a custom set that he could use for the movie and this simply fit the bill so filming was moved to this site.
Cameron needed a set where there could be absolute darkness due to the depths at which the story was taking place. Since this site was great for shooting but still had a lot of daylight to it the crew had to throw a massive tarp over the top of the tank and use black beads to simulate the darkness that they needed.
Unfortunately at one point a storm happened to come along and ripped the tarp away, damaging it pretty badly. Since there wasn’t any time to repair it the cast then had to film at night to keep the continuity of the film.
The company that built and then abandoned the power plant actually got permission to build a new structure not too far away from this one. As of 2007 it was apparently set to be demolished. It’d be interesting to see if anything was still left.
According to some of the cast the filming of The Abyss was brutal at times. A few of them won’t even talk about it to this day since it brings back bad memories.
This is supposedly the second site where the film was shot but it’s not for certain. It would certainly fit with the idea that Cameron wanted but as it’s been abandoned for a while now it’s really hard to tell. At this point a lot of these structures might no longer be there.
You can see the Deep Core here, looking fairly well kept. This picture must have been taken not too long after filming was done since the set looks to be in good condition still.
It might be worthwhile to at least make a trip to this location and see if anything is still standing.
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