Megalodon: The Frenzy (2023) by Brendan Petrizzo


Director: Brendan Petrizzo
Year: 2023
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Sharks

Plot:
Having survived the original attacks, the crew of the Naval vessel fighting the Megalodon shark discovers a research facility also under attack by more of the massive creatures and has even managed to capture one forcing them to work together to stop the sharks from spreading across the world.

Review:

Overall, this was a rather fun and enjoyable genre effort. Among the better features of this one is the exciting setup that provides a worthy type of over-the-top scenario that comes off rather well. With the exploits of the previous encounter used as a backdrop to showcase the failing ship’s health and status brought to the forefront immediately, this one starts pretty well and gives a decent enough setup for the release of the other sharks. Dealing with the underwater exploration of the potential energy source and unexpectedly freeing it once they realize that the area was home to a series of sharks that get freed into the open ocean where they continually engage in a series of missions to get in contact with the creatures to prevent others from succumbing to their power. That is a fine excuse for the type of technology and series of prototype equipment that are put in place for the scenario to play out as everything about this is the type of over-the-top genre effort that makes for a fun time.

As well, that also means the film has a slew of exciting and hilariously cheesy attacks getting the creatures out on the water and interacting with others. The recaps of the original and attempts to show the new creature attacking the damaged ship offer the chance to see the sharks’ immense size and ferocity with these sequences. Also helpful in that regard is the outright goofy scenes showing the creatures out in the world at large as they’re shown taking down ocean liners, surfers, and ordinary citizens on the beach which center around the typically silly concepts and execution of the sharks at that size interacting with regular people. The finale, featuring a slew of impressive tactics trying to finally knock off the last sharks with some solid strategic points alongside the high-end technological advances trying to finish everything, offers up quite a bit to like here which gives the film a lot to like about it.

There are a few slight factors here that hold this one down. One of the main drawbacks to the film is the seemingly obnoxious ability to continually try to dismiss the activity or presence of the shark despite being a straightforward sequel to the original. The idea of the shark being present in the situation following the creature attacking and destroying the ship earlier in the day during the original film shouldn’t make the idea of there being more creatures seem all that difficult to believe yet this one has way too many instances of the sighting being dismissed by others for the implausibility of it happening. It makes the film feel far too cheesy for its own good by having something that monumental and important being written off simply for the heroes to be constantly proven right and even more so considering the events in the film’s universe. As well as the constant cheesiness of the effects and CGI being presented, these efforts end up being its main flaws.


Overview: ****/5
A perfectly fun and cheesy killer shark film, this one is perfectly aligned with what it is and doesn’t change up much from what’s expected leaving it to be pretty much exactly what’s advertised. Those who enjoy this kind of feature, are general aficionados of killer shark films, or are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like here while most others out there should heed caution.

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