'In the Heart of the Sea' handler om den virkelige historie om en hvalbåd, der i 1820 sejlede ud fra kysten af Nantucket og blev overmandet af en kæmpe kaskelothval. Besætningen på 20 mand forsvandt til søs i mere end 90 dage og måtte til sidst trække lod om, hvem der skulle spises. Den virkelige historie har inspireret Herman Melvilles klassiske litterære værk 'Moby Dick'.

John Cusack spiller hovedrollen i denne film, instrueret af Savage Steve Holland, der også lavede den vanvittige Better Off Dead.... Historien følger fyren Hoops McCann, der gerne vil skrive og tegne en kærlighedshistorie. Han bliver derfor inviteret på en vild sommerferie af en ven, så han kan få inspiration. Hoops får mere inspiration, end han nogensinde turde drømme om! Specielt da han møder vennens fuldstændig vanvittige søster Cassandra (Demi Moore).

Dramatic retelling of the fateful last voyage of the Nantucket whaleship Essex. When the Essex is attacked and sunk by a sperm whale in November 1820, her crew take to three fragile whalers. Alone in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the men must decide whether to head for the nearest islands - a thousand miles downwind to the west - or set out on an epic journey of almost three thousand miles to reach the South American mainland. Fear of cannibals forces them to choose South America. Almost three months later, the first whaler is rescued by another whaleship. Only three men are still alive. A week later the captain's whaler is also rescued, with just two men aboard. The third whaler is never found. This is a story of human endurance and what men in extremis will do to survive.

A young woman comes face to face with her sleep-paralysis demon, defeating it once and for all.