Director: Anthony C. Ferrante
Year: 2023
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Sharks
Plot:
After heading out onto the ocean, a couple looking into the environmental effects on sea life in the area are soon stranded in the water when a ravenous shark traps them at sea with dwindling supplies forcing them to deal with the creature with a sketchy survivor until they’re rescued.
Review:
This was a fairly underwhelming genre effort. One of the few positives featured here comes from the simplistic setup that provides a decent enough excuse for the attacks to occur following their trip out on the water. Featuring the two looking forward to their study of the local marine life and his secret quest to make it a potential proposal opportunity, the resulting shark attack is a fine way to set up their need to survive in the water long enough to be rescued which is what ensures a solid series of antics following up on the first encounter. These attacks featuring the couple trying to utilize their sunken ship and supplies to their advantage not just getting out of the water but off of the island with the other shifty survivor that come off rather nicely, leading to some rather fun attacks and decent enough gore to be somewhat worthwhile.
There are some issues to be had with this one that hold it back. The main problem with the film is the highly underwhelming and decidedly sluggish pacing that doesn’t have much in the way of interest for quite a while. The structure here is the main culprit, making a series of odd decisions that leave the structure here quite uneven with some bizarre choices. The idea of taking the couple out to the reef as a secondary storyline with the stranger hitching a ride with the fisherman couple and then going through the relationship drama that transpires with them out there leaves the film’s first half not knowing what storyline you’re supposed to be following, to then bring the shark out as soon as it does leads to the rushed series of attacks leading to the spate of injuries that seem completely unrealistic as to how they would survive and continue to keep fighting with the wounds that they suffer here because the attacks are so early in the film.
As well, the other problem here is that there’s way too much going on with the inclusion of a human villain to try to overcome that feels unnecessary in the final half. Featuring the victim in the first place is a weird choice since he takes away from the fight to get away from the sharks circling the island with them so everything is suddenly drained of the type of suspense and action that’s usually featured in these types of scenarios as there’s now a need to try to deal with this threat which keeps the sharks away during this section of the film. Adding in the injuries that are still a prominent part of what’s going on here, this only ends up allowing everything to get stretched out far longer than it needed to be making for a film that’s way too long for its own good. These end up dragging the film down overall.
Overview: **.5/5
A somewhat underwhelming if still watchable genre effort, there’s enough to like with this one that it comes off well enough for what it is while still having quite a few drawbacks present. Those who are fine with these issues, enjoy this style of feature, or are fans of the creative crew will have a lot to like here while most others out there should heed caution.
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