Director: Mark Polonia
Year: 2016
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Sharks
Plot:
Arriving in a small ocean-side community, a research group looking to vacation in a small coastal community find that the series of mysterious disappearances around town are the result of a monstrous shark created by a secret Naxi experiment and loosened upon the world, forcing them to stop the creature.
Review:
This one was every bit as cheesy and goofy as expected. Most of what makes the film so cheesy are the outright ludicrous and laughable storyline that we’re supposed to take seriously. The idea of melding together sharks and the Frankenstein legend by way of a Nazi experiment from WWII is a truly goofy concept here, and that’s in addition to the full-on explanation sequence where this one pulls off the connection between the fictitious story and real-life events. This explanation gives the reasoning for the sharks’ ragged appearance and ties into the sequence of the group assisting in the operation to revive the shark.
As well, that also stretches to the creature attacks throughout here. With the reliance on short shock scenes of the shark jumping out of the water to attack those on the beach, there’s a goofiness and overall sense of cheese that really makes this a lot of fun. When it starts getting to the bigger scenes like the boat attacks or the chases away from the island, these have a bit more suspense than expected which offers a great contrast to the finale involving the creature sprouting legs and attacking on land as there’s some goofy fun to be had involving the creature running through the woods attacking locals and leading up to the explosive finale in the lighthouse. These here are what hold the film up for the most part.
The main issue holding this one back is the expected lackluster special effects featured here. The shark is completely lackluster, never once looking more than a puppet superimposed over the action in a manner that renders such impossible changes in size dimensions across the scenes that it stands out every time it happens. That the CGI is arguably worse, not just for the creature’s attacks but other scenes including shots of the villains' hideout superimposed into the scene which is not only unnecessary but adds an extra cheese factor which lowers this one significantly by looking cheaper than it should. This is an issue with the effects work as a whole that lowers this one which is more detrimental than the practical effects also featured here.
The other problem with this one is a wholly muddied explanation for why the creature turns into a humanoid mutation. In the final half, the creature gets the Frankenstein treatment by being struck by lightning and goes on a rampage against the community in a complete ripoff of that segment. The fact that there’s no reason as for why the creature, which was a shark-body, gets struck by lightning and turns into a monstrous, humanoid deformity that was never an issue in the original story so why it happens to the shark here is quite curious. Along with a questionable rape scene on a villager that doesn’t need to be there, these are what hold the film down.
Overview: **/5
Despite some minor issues with its cheesy tone and some storyline issues, the overall sense of fun present within the cheesy atmosphere and action here manages to make this one a pretty solid effort in the genre. Give this one a shot if you’re a fan of these cheesy genre features or of the creative crew behind this one, while those with no tolerance for either of those should avoid altogether.
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