Director: Greg AK
Year: 2024
Country: United Kingdom
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Sharks
Plot:
After a series of disturbing signs, a military team is requested to look into the possibility that a top-secret weapon has gotten loose in a mountain region nearby, but when they learn they’re tracking a genetically-engineered shark capable of living in mountain areas must get away alive.
Review:
On the whole, this was a fairly fun and generally enjoyable genre effort. Among the better features of this one is the rather fun and intriguing setup that provides the kind of cheesy setup necessary for this style of feature. Taking a rather formulaic but no less intriguing means here with the team of soldiers tasked with going to a remote part of the country to check on reports of something strange in the area and learning that it matches a military experiment where they’re sent out into the countryside to find a shark capable of living in the dirt instead of the sea loose in the mountains all manages to provide a fun start to this. The brief bits given about the kind of experimentation required to pull this off and feel logical are quite well handled here as it’s just enough to provide a believable enough explanation for the creature's existence while also generating the means through which of getting the team out there to hunt it down and kill it.
That gives the film a nice way of getting to the shark action in the later half. With a fun opening attack that sets the stage for things to come, the first instances of the creature stalking the team through the rocky terrain as the fin cracks the dirt ground instead of water offers a fine taste of what’s to come. Encounters along a hiking trail attempting to get back to base or the series of encounters using the group as targets by the deranged doctor looking to use them as a means of testing what the creature is capable of which means there are some enjoyable cheesy encounters along the mountainous terrain of the outclassed team going up against the shark in singular setpieces. Filled with cheesy activity pulled off in immensely noticeable and laughable CGI that is commonplace in these features, it does come off rather well at points.
There are some issues with this one that do bring it down. The main problematic feature here is the slack tempo, which leaves the film quite dull for a long part of the running time. As we get nearly endless scenes of the group going through the ordeal of figuring out where the creature is residing, why they’re chosen for the mission, and then wandering aimlessly through the mountain trails tracking it by complaining endlessly in a way that no real military-trained figure should act like, the beginning half is a real slough to get through. As it never gives off the kind of cheesy qualities expected in this setup as instead it’s dull unbelievable characters moping around the countryside instead of action, it just highlights this issue far more than it really should and makes for a somewhat tough time getting into everything. With an appallingly lame villain who easily could’ve been overpowered and never had as much control as he does and a motive just as underwhelming, there are some factors holding this one down.
Overview: **.5/5
A generally watchable if still flawed killer shark film, this one has enough to like about it although it does come off a bit lower than it should due to the problems on display holding this back. Viewers who are fine with the negatives, appreciate this kind of cheesy killer shark film, 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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