Director: Joseph Sargent
Year: 1987
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Sharks
Plot:
After the death of her son, a woman decides to go visit her other son in the Bahamas where everyone comes to believe that the killer shark that killed their family has arrived and is stalking the area forcing them to race to stop it from attacking the rest of the community.
Review:
There isn't a whole lot to like in this one. One of the few bright spots here is the action sequences when they occur as the few attacks the shark has aren't all that bad. The opening attack, where a victim is savagely ripped up and bitten savagely before being pulled underwater, is quite stunning and really shocking as it sets a great opening for the film, a later attack on a crowded beach where a victim is snagged off a marine toy in front of a small group of kids is really a great sequence for its cruelty and viciousness than anything else and the chase sequence in the sunken galleon does have an air of suspense as the shark does manage to constantly get at the victim after every possible method is used to put distance between them.
Beyond these, though, there wasn't much to really like about it as there's a lot to really dislike in this one. The utmost flaw is that the film has the most unbelievable and nonsensical plot ever. Beyond the fact that sharks are incapable of living in the location chosen, the fact that it manages to get there in a short amount of time is very hard to believe. There's also the family history of the sharks that the film brings up. Using the film, the shark is in fact the first film's third cousin twice removed and would have no motive to carry out the vengeance issued. That's assuming that the connection is correct, and if it isn't, then it's even more off in terms of where the shark falls in the family circle.
The other big mistake in the film, beyond trying to figure out where the shark comes from, is the very slow pacing involved. Scenes drag on for far too long or have no reason to be there other than padding out the length. The biggest one is the family quarrels about being in the water, which was done nicely enough at first but then it happens twice in a half-hour span, and nothing comes of them since they all go into the water afterward. The struggling marriage scenes have no bearing on the plot and seem needlessly thrown in as well. The one scene that really just drags is the beach dedication ceremony. It sets up an important plot point, so it can't be removed, but the speeches go on forever and repeat themselves a couple times, going over their words as if they're stream-of-conscious rants.
There are a couple of other big problems in the film, the biggest of which is that the film feels really flat. In fact, the film flat-out ignores all opportunities to create tension or fear. Just about all the attack scenes seem perfunctorily rushed and no effort is whatsoever made to make them frightening or even suspenseful. The ending, which should've been a big rousing affair to finish off the shark once and for all, plays out really flatly and the stupidity found within has a lot to do with that. Finally, the shark does look really fake, and there are really no scenes where it looks the slightest real. It simply floats along with minimal movement, being even more distracting. This really wasn't all that great.
Overview: 0.5/5
While this isn't a train wreck as so often has been claimed, it's by no means a classic either. Most of the problems can be overlooked, but some of them are so hard to do so that it becomes a stumbling point for the movie, and some can be irrecoverable for certain people, so take caution with this no matter if you choose to see it or not.
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