Shark Night 3D

Welcome to another episode Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is Shark Night 3D.

Directed by David R. Ellis.

Written by Will Hayes & Jesse Studenberg.

Review #136

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence and terror, disturbing images, sexual references, partial nudity, language and thematic material.

Runtime: 91 min

Cast

Sara Paxton ...Sara

Dustin Milligan ...Nick

Chris Carmack ...Dennis

Katharine McPhee ...Beth

Chris Zylka ...Blake

Alyssa Diaz ...Maya

Joel David Moore ...Gordon

Sinqua Walls ...Malik

Donal Logue ...Sabin

Joshua Leonard ...Red


Steven Spielberg and a little mechanical shark named Bruce had to ruin it for everyone. Thanks to Jaws, people have developed a misguided and uneducated fear of sharks. And rightfully so in my opinion. That was one scary bastard. The film also had another negative side effect. In this case it was the film industry that was affected. The monumental success of Jaws spawned multiple and very inferior sequels and worse.....

Copycats.

I can go down the list but we all know for the most part which films I'm talking about. Thinking mostly of Orca, Piranha and Piranha II. Here's a show biz trivia nugget for you. Do you know who directed Piranha II? None other than Mr. Avatar himself James Cameron. Living proof that you literally have to "swim" your way to the top as a film maker.

Sorry. I couldn't resist the pun.

My point is that none of those films were able to capture the fanfare, finances and more importantly entertainment value that Jaws created. This trend continues today with the genre's latest attempt to scare you out of the water.

Does it work....HELL NO! Was it that bad....Not really....Sort of.

Plot


A weekend at a lake house in the Louisiana Gulf turns into a nightmare for seven vacationers as they are subjected to fresh-water shark attacks. 

If there's one thing that films like these all have in common is a very underdeveloped plot. Shark Night is no different. The film wastes no time not letting you get to know the characters. Identifying with them. Bond with them. Care for them. Why? DUH! Cause they're all shark bait. That's why REAL actors don't come anywhere near films like this. Now let me clarify what I mean by real actors. I am no way suggesting that the players in this movie can't act. I'm just stating the obvious. Which is aside from Deep Blue Sea which had a pretty solid name cast headlined by Samuel L. Jackson (who by the way had probably the greatest death in any shark film. Including Robert Shaw being eaten alive in Jaws), Thomas Jane, LL Cool J and even Stellan Skarsgard. When was the last time you saw household names in a film if this ilk.

The defense rests.

This is a MAJOR flaw for films like this. If they want to be taken seriously and most of the time they don't. The casting NEEDS to improve. For this film it wasn't that necessary. Getting back to the story or lack there of. The reason for the kids party or need to travel to a deserted lake with no cell phone reception is obviously immaterial. The reason for the shark attacks however is VERY material and I have to say I bought it.

To an extent.

I'll put it this way. There are 2 major motives for the shark attacks. Which of course get explained in traditional villain monologue fashion. The only problem with 1 of the explanations is that there was no visual evidence of said villain's reason for unleashing the sharks on the people. This was a simple script flaw that could have and should have been dealt with. It would have taken 15-30 seconds in flashback and bingo you have more depth behind a very shallow plot. I know I sound WAY too critical about a film called Shark Night but the one thing that got me to see this movie in the first place was the fresh premise for the attacks. It was pretty original to a degree and curiosity got the better of me. Am I disappointed in the end result. Nope cause I wasn't surprised that the film goes the route it does cause it just follows the horror film playbook.

Step by predictable step.

I am however, disappointed in 2 things. The first being the look of the CG sharks. They looked rather lame with the exception of the one close up of the Tiger Shark. The rest of them looked like unrendered versions that were approved by the director. For a film with a budget of $28,000,000, a few extra bucks could have gone to make the sharks more life like. Second is the shark kills. Now I realize that you can't get too creative with a shark attack but the film cheats a lot with the victim being dragged under water and never resurfacing. What makes this even more disappointing is the fact there was a pretty original shark kill. I find it very hard to believe that the writers couldn't find other ways to dispatch our lovely victims.

Bottom line is this. Does Shark Night revolutionize the killer shark film? Absolutely not.

Is it the worst killer shark film ever made? Absolutely not.

Could it have revolutionized the killer shark film? Yes. Possibly. And that's what bugs me about this one. The potential was there and instead of really trying to break the mold they just adjusted it.

Thanks a lot Steve.

On the 5 star scale. Shark Night 3D gets. 1 star with a "Netflix It!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today. Up next is Contagion.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"