I know what Sharktopus is supposed to be and that’s a comedy with horror and science fiction taking a back seat on one of those accordion buses. As somebody who normally doesn’t watch these types of movies, I also know I’m outside the target audience. I will acknowledge that there is fun to be had here but it’s one of those films that must be watched with friends otherwise you will feel more than tad foolish watching it alone…
Sharktopus (2010)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Comedy, Horror, Science Fiction
Anchor Bay | Not Rated – 89 min. – $24.99 | May 15, 2011
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Declan O’Brien
Writer(s): Mike MacLean (screenplay)
Cast: Eric Roberts, Kerem Bursin, Sara Malakul Lane
DISC INFO:
Features: Commentary, Trailer
Number of Discs: 1
Audio: English (Dolby TrueHD 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.78
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A
THE MOVIE – 2/5
With a title like Sharktopus and a producer like Roger Corman behind it, we all know what it is and what it is not. The people working on the production know the same thing and that this is a bad movie and prides itself on this fact. It was also apparent that based on the ratings when it aired on the SyFy Channel, the film has a fan base as well.
The story, as it is, finds a genetically altered species named the Sharktopus – half shark, half octopus – created by the U.S. Navy and Nathan Sands (ERIC ROBERTS) who is, I presume, a scientist. The project is going well as they can control the beast but when the device gets broken off during a test, the creature goes on a rampage mostly seeking out bikini clad women, some hot, others… not so much.
Now the hunt is on and joining the search is Nathan’s daughter the supposedly brilliant Nicole Sands (SARA MALAKUL LANE) and former colleague Andy Flynn (KEREM BURSIN) along with others on tangent storylines like a gung-ho reporter (LIV BOUGHN). Will the creature be caught? How many innocent tourists on vacation in Mexico will be killed? How cheesy is this movie?
That last question is probably why movies like Sharktopus and Dinoshark share a fondness for just how bad it is… and this is one horrible movie. I mean, REALLY awful between absolutely horrific acting from the main cast to the extras, cheesy dialogue where the in-jokes don’t land at all and visual effects that make the 3D shark effect in Back to the Future Part II look state of the art. Then you have poorly written characters that seemingly have bi-polar disorder because their mood changes from one scene to the next. To be fair, though, this is a common occurance in even higher budgeted films.
Now, I gave the film a 2/5 but I also acknowledge that everybody on this production knew that they were making a bad movie so on that front, I do appreciate that for not one moment were they taking it seriously. But to that end, I just didn’t find that much enjoyment and in fact became a tad bored with the process and despite its relatively short 89-minute running time, I felt it was a good 10-15 minutes too long.
That said, between the awful acting, piss-poor CGI and all the rest, fans do get what they want and that’s some Sharktopus attacks with screaming/yelping victims running away before the tanticals rise up from the water and squeeze the life out of them, or if the mood is right, take off their head or cut them in half…
Sharktopus was directed by Declan O’Brien, a name you may be familiar with including the atrocious Rock Monster, the cheesy and cheap Cyclops (also starring Eric Roberts), Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead and Wrong Turn 4 set for release this year.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.25/5
We get a half-decent audio commentary with producers Roger and Julie Corman moderated by independent filmmaker Harry Martin and the trailer (2:39; HD).
There are also trailers for Dinocroc vs. Supergator and Cyclops.
VIDEO – 3.5/5
The AVC encoded transfer for the most part doesn’t look too bad. There are some shots that seem out of focus but other parts are clean, clear and well detailed with flesh tones that look about right as well. The film is presented in its original 1.78 aspect ratio presentation and in 1080p high-def.
AUDIO – 4/5
The disc boasts a good Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track where the ridiculous screams will resonate loudly through your home theater while the equally cheap score by Tom Hiel (Rock Monster) sounds good as well.
OVERALL – 2.5/5
OK, I know what Sharktopus is supposed to be and that’s a comedy with horror and science fiction taking a back seat on one of those accordion buses. As somebody who normally doesn’t watch these types of movies, I also know I’m outside the target audience. I will acknowledge that there is fun to be had here but it’s one of those films that must be watched with friends otherwise you will feel more than tad foolish watching it alone…
Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 04/09/2011
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2.