Free Shark Night
Genres: ThrillerHor
Starring: Joshua Leonard, Katharine McPhee, Donal Logue, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Sara Paxton, Damon Lipari
Director(s): David R. Ellis
Country: USA
Year: 2011
IMDB Rating: 3.9
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.
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Shark Night (DivX) | Resolution: 720x400 px | Total Size: 1349 Mb |
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Visitors Review
MovieCritic33-6 (15 May 2012)
Scream meets Jaws...that's different! Shark Night a review:
Actors: Sara Paxton, Alyssa Diaz, Dustin Milligan, Katharine McPhee,and Joel David Moore.Plot: A group of college kids head on up to their friend Sarah's lakehouse, on a secluded Louisiana lake. But much to their demise what theydo not know is that this salt water lake is infested with variousspecies of sharks. The question is how did they get into this lake andwhy? ACTING: Not much to say, it's a horror movie. Beside let's face itthey are only as good as the script permits.TONE: Serious and dark horror movie, with a huge lack of thrills andsuspense.SCRIPT: A "B" movie script. I will say the concept is MOSTLY original.Cheesy all around, dry humour (wait was their any?). Scream meets Jaws(that's a first!).PROS: Entertaining (for viewers with a respect for "B" movies). Coolvariety of sharks.CONS: Rather ludicrous (no matter which way you flip the coin).Dissatisfying shark attacks and not nearly enough carnage for thisgenre. You hardly see the sharks.VERDICT: Whatever you do DO NOT BUY this movie BEFORE PREVIEWING itbecause I guarantee, you will be disappointed. I am one of those whobought this film before previewing, and I knew the risks. I don'tregret this purchase because under the RIGHT circumstances this film isextremely mindless and fun to watch in all of it's awfulness (sometimesyou just have to love it for what it is). I will say that I do love theirony the film conveys, the antagonists are filming the shark attacks(sound like another scary movie that just came out not too long before?--> "Scream 4") and one of the character's say that people would pay tosee some sharks eating people (isn't that what WE paid to see?). Theproblem with Shark Night is that it takes itself seriously, and withit's plot how can you? I believe that is the only thing that actuallymakes this film humorous. But honestly if you have no respect for "B"movies just avoid this one. If you are looking for something just asbrainless but done right, go out and rent or buy Piranha (the 1978original or the 2010 remake) they're both campy fun! But if you'relooking for a fun shark movie, I always liked Deep Blue Sea, than ofcourse their is Jaws and its campy successors.
Robert Collins (15 May 2012)
No so bad it's good here, this is just plain bad.
My god this movie is horrible, I am quite a fan of shark movies and allthat jazz do I looked forward to this new installment in the genre,however I must say that this movie is just ridiculous. For these moviesto work I think they need to have some humor thrown in to the mix,films such as Piranha 3d know what they are and play with it but SharkNight just takes itself far too seriously and in the end it's just badbad bad.Even Sara Paxton and Chris Zylka, two young actors who I quite enjoycouldn't save this film. The fact that you barely even see any sharksis dumb too, basically all you see us fin and that's it, and the sceneswhen you do see a shark the special effects are so cheaply done that Ifelt like I was having a joke played on me, the special effects are notmuch better than the ones that you see in the SyFy TV movies likeSharktopus, but even those films are better than this garbage.One scene when a shark literally flies out of the water and attacks aman who is hanging on to a tree is just ridiculous, these people can'tbe really taking it serious I hope. I strongly urge everyone to savetheir money and go and rent either The Reef or a SyFy film, anything isbetter than this. I hope Sara Paxton is able to recover.
Steve Pulaski (12 May 2012)
Can't even take a second look at the formulaic, horror blueprint
Even the most eventful, exciting, and thrilling scenes in Shark Night3D aren't done properly thanks to poorly executed CGI, pitiful acting,a lack of logic, and not to mention, the biggest problem of all, thefilm's rating. Ultimately this wants to do three things; bank off the3D gimmick, be a Piranha-inspired film, and try and give cheesy,exploitation fun. The only thing it manages to pull off successfully isbe a gimmick-sponsored, loathsome horror film.The rating is the biggest problem. I can tell from certain scenes likewhen the characters are angry and when the shark attacks they wanted toshow more. It was cut down most likely to get teens younger thaneighteen to spend money and go alone. This will obviously increaseticket sales, and get more teens involved. It was a mistake for this tobe a PG-13 horror film, when clearly, it could've been a very bloody,very thrilling piece of new-horror. Instead it wimps out, but will mostlikely earn an "Unrated Director's Cut" stamp on the DVD release.The plot: A group of College kids go down to one of the girls'lakehouses where they encounter a group of hungry sharks. Of course bythis lake there is no cell reception, and the person behind thiswonderful place didn't decide to install a landline in case, you know,someone was hurt or injured. Not to mention, there is not one parkpatrol or janitor in this whole woods. Or people just randomly hiking.In order for this film to work, logic and common sense need to beexcluded.So, one person gets his arm bitten off, and is said by the oh-so brightmedical student that he has only about two hours, but he manages tomake it well through the night with enough energy to wrestle anothershark in the water with one arm. The group also encounter unsettlingrednecks who live on the lake and two wind up going on a boat with themno questions asked.The remainder of the film is composed of lukewarm 3D effects, loudriffs, computer animated sharks, teen screams, and in-comprehendablePG-13 shark clips. All of which edited and executed in a"we're-gonna-show-it-but-we're-not" sort of form. One of the rednecksis portrayed somewhat effectively by Joshua Leonard, who you may knowas the ski-cap sporting teenager in The Blair Witch Project. Now heplays a shark crazed maniac who wants to bank off of people's expense.The thought is sickening to say the least.I will say the 3D is mixed. I was hoping since this is directed byDavid R. Ellis he would use the same 3D company used to make The FinalDestination leap off the screen, but he didn't. Some scenes in 3D areactually effective, but unlike The Final Destination, they fail toactually leap off the screen.The pluses in Shark Night 3D are just little perks that don't make thefilm worth seeing at all. Some decent music is played, Sara Paxton doeswhat she can with what she has, and the underwater cinematography andfirst person view are the only things working in the film's favor.There is also a lovely music video after the credits with all theactors and actresses rapping aimlessly about how shark attacks andshark safety. Someone ought to remind them they shouldn't be with usnow.If you're looking for suspense, keep walking folks, Shark Night 3D is abig fan of just BOOM and it happens sort of action. Nothing is built upto seem even scarier, and there is not even the slightest indicationwhen something is about to happen. I would rather be still, interested,and worried than just jump quickly only to roll my eyes at what I justdid.David R. Ellis directed Final Destination 2 with plenty of suspense,but neglected to shift it over to the fourth installment or this. Hewas also the man behind the camera on Snakes on a Plane. I can't tellif Shark Night 3D wants to be a satire on creatures like that film, orif it wants to be a serious take on the genre of the underwater beast.But its rating, its lack of logic, and its execution prevent it fromachieving either status.And also, no modern horror film is complete without a helpless animaltreated like meat in one scene in the film. Shark Night 3D is noexception to the formula.Starring: Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, and Joshua Leonard. Directedby: David R. Ellis.
cdarbygrl1 (11 May 2012)
Not very good!
This movie was predictable and not worth $7.50! It never even showedthe shark actually killing anyone! It showed blood and limbs, but noreal action.Piranha 3D was much better!! In this movie, you could always predictwho the bad guy was and exactly what was going to happen next. Theynever really explained where the sharks came from....left someunanswered questions. Katherine McPhee from American Idol did a prettygood job, though! I didn't see it in 3D, but i honestly don't think itwould be any better! I hope they don't make a sequel!! Save your moneyfor the remake of The Thing coming out soon!
scarletheels (09 May 2012)
Shark Night 3D has no guts, figuratively and literally
Sara (Sara Paxton) and her college friends travel to her lake house onthe Louisiana Gulf for a wild weekend of beer pong, sunbathing, anddeath by shark. Be mindful of the PG-13 rating because, if you go intothis expecting the finned version of Aja's silicon laden Piranha 3D,you'll be sorely disappointed. The most you're going to get to feastyour eyes on is a brief shot of Katharine McPhee's and Alyssa Diaz'sside boobs. It's light on the carnage and heavy on the sentimental and oftenover-dramatic monologues. The gore is pretty watered down for theteen/tween audience. This is neither a good thing nor a bad thing -it's a boring thing. While there are quite a few deaths, the attacksare short cut scenes that end with the camera lingering over pools ofred coloring dye to signify, yep, they're dead. What's missing from this humdinger is good ol' fashioned fun. Most ofits ilk celebrate the B-movie campiness with richly funny dialog, revelin the opportunity to mock its genre, or totally go off the deep endwith exaggerated kills and/or gratuitous nudity. I realize Shark Night3D wasn't made to be an in-your-face exploitation film but it's notOpen Water either. It falls to the wayside because it has no guts,literally and figuratively.
wolverinejmc (08 May 2012)
Shockingly horrible
A group of college friends are pursued by various species of sharks andredneck idiots in this horrendously bad theatrical "horror" film. Iwish that was all I could say about this film but it honestly offendedme. The story and background of all main characters were forced andhorribly acted, save Sara Paxton and Katherine McPhee, the latter beingthe hottest of the bunch( yes, I had to switch to superficial looks toremotely enjoy this). Paxton's character is adorable but herrelationship to the villains is just stupid, like an impossibly vapidDawson's's creek episode. the sharks do not fare well either in thiscinematic garbage.How did these sharks get here? God knows but Joel David Moore states atthe beginning of the film that "it's not impossible". Well there we gothen! The sharks themselves are pitifully rendered and evoke absolutelyno scares, just laughs. But is it enjoyable, comedic laughs I produce?No, it's a guffaw that I'm still sitting in my seat and not spearingthe screen.Two out of ten. One star each for the beautiful McPhee and Paxton. Therest can burn in hell.
abstain13 (08 May 2012)
Total trash
I am a horror fan, a genre fan and do enjoy "B" movies, but this wasbeyond awful. The story was so bad that it was beyond amusing andbecame frustrating. So full of stupidity and plot holes... agh what asteaming pile! The ONLY good actor/actress in the whole thing was theDOG! It's not uncommon for these Hollywood genre attempts to bepainfully dumbed down, contain terrible "talent" with nothing moregoing for them then sex appeal but this epidemic is spreading! Furthermore, the CGI was completely amateur and really made a crap filmlook worse. There honestly wasn't a single redeeming feature throughoutthis waste of time.Avoid this pile of shark poop at all costs.
nickyt187 (07 May 2012)
Shark Night 3D Review
So if you came to this movie with the hopes that you may have found anactually good shark film that sits behind the 1975 hit "Jaws"...thenyou have come to the wrong place. Shark Night 3D should be placed handin hand with Pirhana 3D when it comes to film judging. It is quitefrankly a "Just for fun" kind of film that doesn't need to becriticized for all the typical things movies in this genre are.Shark Night 3D is a movie that is enjoyable to watch if you can take itwith a grain of salt. The film is more of a Teen slasher film whichincludes all the bells and whistles that come along with them. You knowthat young unknown cast in their normal movie fashion that makes nosense(Jock,EasyGirl,Smart/GoodGirl,Geek and Geeks friend). *SpoilerAlert* A Killer (Sharks + People). Bad decision making skills...ETC.You get the picture.Scares are a rarity in this film almost every time someone is about todie you will know about it and see it coming from a mile away...trustme on this one. But there are a few curve balls in there as well sodon't worry. *Spoiler Alert* A lot of the Sharks and Shark Sequences inthis film are CGI which is something that a lot of people disagreewith. I mean your not gonna see many "Bruces" out there attackinghelpless college kids but there are a few. Overall the film uses somegood effects that work well and some CGI that are so so but the effectsare better then most recent shark films.Acting is average for this type of movie but who really cares ITS AHORROR MOVIE! Mind you its not horrible but not good either. Characterdevelopment is sparse even for the characters the script wants us toroot for so when people are killed your like "eh whatever".The Plot is above average compared to many shark films that havesurfaced over the last decade or so. It has its cool points which arebelievable and not out stretched.Overall it wasn't a bad film. I would recommend anyone who enjoys filmsfor their entertainment and fun to take a look its worth a shot.
Jan Strydom (07 May 2012)
Not a terrible film but could have been better.
Its about time they brought out a killer shark attack movie that wasn'tjust another low budget direct to video or made for TV cheese fest butone that came out in theaters, even though SHARK NIGHT was in factreleased in theaters it is unfortunately not the kind of shark movie Ihad hoped to see in theaters, mainly because its too tame and doesn'thave a whole lot of suspense, keeping in mind this film is PG13 it wasalmost as if the producers were trying to cater to a certain type ofaudience with the wrong type of film.For instance the central characters are a bunch of college graduates intheir early to mid 20's so obviously this film was aimed at teenagersinstead of fans of killer shark films, in one way its not a bad thingin the other many people are not going to want to see a kids movie theywould want to see a suspense packed, fast pace and very intense sharkmovie and like I said SHARK NIGHT is not that movie.Overall, SHARK NIGHT isn't a terrible movie but its more of shark moviefor kids, all that we need now is a shark movie for adults.
BakuryuuTyranno (06 May 2012)
Shark Knight
Once the characters arrive at the cabin much accelerated footage playsshowing these guys hanging around - obviously the writers didn't caremuch about letting the audience get familiar with these people.Things happen that are nonsensical - a guy missing an arm apparentlyonly bleeds when the plot requires it, and apparently boats that drivefor ages don't get significantly further from their starting point. Itsstill too restrained to be fun though.Actually its only slightly more entertaining than the boring "Piranha3D". In other words even a film about knights with bodies consistingprimarily of sharks would be better.
mm-39 (06 May 2012)
not the best summer film!
3 D shark attack is not the best film of the summer! The name 3 D SharkAttack should be a dead give away for the quality of this movie! Thestory is about the people who put sharks in a lake and film the eatingpeople in order to make money. Cheesy film with 3 D effects. The 3 Dwas okay. Some 3 D effects like explosions were cool, while other partswere lame. Sometimes there was no real 3 D at all. Watch this movie forthe 3 D. I would not watch this film in 2 D. There were no big nameactors in this one. The bad guy's teeth were disgusting! The film useda lot of 80's heavy metal in it. I give this film a 6 out of 10 in 3 Dand 5 out of 10 in 2 D.
Hellmant (06 May 2012)
'SHARK NIGHT' is weakened by it's attempt to censor itself (which most films are).
'SHARK NIGHT': Three Stars (Out of Five) In the tradition of 'B' tongue in cheek animals gone wild horror filmslike 'PIRANHA', 'LAKE PLACID' and 'DEEP BLUE SEA' comes 'SHARK NIGHT'.It's not nearly as good as those other films but it does know what itis and has fun with it. Actor and stuntman turned director David R.Ellis (who also directed such other campy would be classics as 'SNAKESON A PLANE', 'CELLULAR', FINAL DESTINATION 2' and 'THE FINALDESTINATION') says he wanted to title the movie 'Untitled 3D SharkThriller' but was eventually shot down. The movie was released in 3Dand is the perfect type of film to see that way but I chose to see itin 2D due to budget restraints. It was written by first time writersWill Hayes and Jesse Studenberg and stars the likes of Sara Paxton,Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Joel David Moore and Donal Logue. Themovie is somewhat fun, cheesy and humorous but still it lacks anythingdistinct or original to set it apart from the rest.It tells the story of seven college students in Louisiana who takevacation at a secluded lake house belonging to one, Sara (Paxton), oftheir families. It had been three years since Sara had been back thereand right away she runs into her old boyfriend Dennis (Carmack) and thelocal Sheriff (Logue) she was buddies with. It becomes apparent toSara's friends and the viewers that she has some dark memories thereand it's a little uneasy for her being back. Nick (Milligan) isespecially interested in Sara and her well being as it becomes obviousthat he has feelings for her. These issues are quickly forgotten whenthe vacationers find themselves under attack by vicious sharks who arenot native to the area. When one is seriously injured they try toquickly get him to help but soon find themselves all falling victim tothe ferocious beasts.The movie of course falls under the category of 'so bad it's good' socritiquing any ridiculousness or plausibility is absurd and ridiculous.The question is always solely whether a movie like this is entertainingor not and this one is but only to a certain extent. For one thingthere's not enough blood or gore and absolutely no nudity or sex. Thisis largely due to the fact that the movie went for a PG-13 ratingrather than the usual R in order to hopefully attract more viewers butI think this ultimately ended up hurting the film more than helping it.There will probably be an unrated DVD\bluray cut that might be betterbut as far as the theatrical release is concerned it's weakened by it'sattempt to censor itself (which most films are). Another thing that'slacking in the film is acting. The cast is so generic and bad (with theexception of Moore and Logue who are always scene stealers) and they'renot even uniquely bad (or that hot) they're just boring. Even by 'B'movie standards this cast is just uninspired. The directing and writingare OK for this type of film but again nothing new or exciting. Thereis a cool after the credits rap video by the cast that adds a littlesomething special to the overall experience of the film, if you waitfor it, but for the most part the film is mostly forgettable (like mostof it's type).Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4tG6zhJxO8
LinkGoku (03 May 2012)
not great but not terrible either.
Let Me start off by saying that I don't think this movie deserves 10/10*s, I'd probably just give it 6/10, but at the moment it's at 3.9/10 soI'm voting 10/10 to try and get the rating higher.If Your looking for a serious and unpredictable horror film, then thisisn't it. But Shark Night is fun and honestly I was surprised by acouple parts. I can't bring myself to call this a horror movie, more ofan action flick.On the downside, You never really care about any of the characters, andthe movie is fairly clichéd.On the upside, the effects are good, and story is surprisingly goodtoo.I would recommend Alexander Aja's Piranha over this. But Shark Night isstill pretty entertaining.
alexindc108 (03 May 2012)
wow
Holy s%&t this movie is bad! Terrible screenplay, horrid. Some of theworst characterizations I've ever seen, acting out in some seriouslyimplausible ways. Who the hell knows if these people can actually act?It's possible, but you wouldn't know from watching this. This is theworst kind of soap-opera-y melodramatic fluff .... oh, and then you getyour occasional poorly executed shark attack. That's not anexaggeration. These attacks are not scary or disturbing in theslightest and the sharks look very fake. Baaaaaaaad, bad bad bad bad -damn-it - there is a good post-JAWS shark attack movie just waiting tobe made - I know it! This ain't it!
oneguyrambling (02 May 2012)
Sharks have a bad enough rep without being associated with films like this.
Shark Night never harboured aspirations of being Jaws 2011, which is agood thing, as any film that does is doomed to failure and backlashfrom a film community still content with the first one.But I didn't want Jaws 2011, I wanted a silly, gory, ridiculous flickwith nature finally getting its own back on humanity for 90 minutes orso. Unfortunately the most joy I felt last night was walking up to thecounter and exclaiming 'Two for Shark Night please', because everythingafter was at best bland and often atrocious.Shark Night is deliberately shlocky and low budget, and features a castof nobodies and the most familiar of horror movie settings: 7 collegekids head off for a weekend of booze, parties and 'fraternising', thenthings go awry. That too doesn't need to be a bad thing, in fact manyof those factors can be pluses if handled correctly. The last twodecades have given us Anaconda, Deep Blue Sea and last year's Piranha,none of them great films, but all memorable and worthy of discussionwhen 'animal attack' movies come up.All we as a movie-going public want is a decent menacing creature, someinventive kills, a few chuckles and  if there's time - some nubileyoung skin. We don't care if the stars of the movie are dodgy fakelooking CGI and equally dodgy fake looking boobies, we want our 80minutes of eating popcorn and laughing guilt free at things that wouldbe horrible if they happened in real life.Unfortunately Shark Night either forgot or decided to ignore the ruleshalf way in. This is not a Piranha type fun gore 'n' skin flick, thisis something else altogether, something that will be forgotten in 12months.From memory the first half of the film goes just like this: Openingchomp. Credits. Inane dialogue. Bikini babes. Gormless guys. Inanedialogue. Get in car. Meet the locals. Chomp. Bikinis. Beefcake.Bikinis. Chomp. Explosion. Hysteria. Bikinis. Bikinis. Bikinis.I might have mixed a chomp and bikini somewhere but you get the gist,the film is set up for some mindless fun, where sharks can not onlykeep pace with speedboats hurtling along at full tilt but they canactually get alongside and ram them. Where at one point a bikini cladlass is trapped underwater for so long that you must start to wonder ifher brain cells might start dying through lack of oxygen, before youswiftly realize that with these kids that wasn't a big problem Unfortunately shortly after they 'meet the locals' a second time thefilm takes an unwelcome turn, because in this case the locals I referto aren't actually the sharks but real, walkin' (sorta) talking'redneck locals. Perhaps most troublingly locals who google.Let me be perfectly straightforward, the film was hardly creative tothis point, but the sudden dip in quality from this point on is simplybreathtaking.I won't 'spoil' this film (the scriptwriter and filmmakers did thatalready) but what was threatening to turn out to be big dumb funquickly lost any rights to the use of the word 'fun', and we know whatthat leaves Might I finish by simply saying if you have a film with abunch of hot chicks drinking and cavorting, surely there is a betterjustification for near nudity than implied rape? When 'fun' turns to'mean' in the blink of an eye, it's time to go home. Or if you haven'tseen Shark Night, perhaps stay there, this crap won't make you happyyou went out.Final Rating  3 / 10. Sharks have bad enough reputation without beingassociated with films like this.
armystrong333 (01 May 2012)
Don't go in the water!
This movie was a disappointment i was expecting a lot more from David REllis! Once i heard of the movie coming out i was thinking it would beable of fun just to watch it. But it wasn't, There was no back story tothe movie. The acting and dialogue was decent But we all know that thismovie was made from the acting and dialogue. It was made to see somesharks eat and tare apart college kids.*SPOILER* And come on The partyseen if thats what you call it. Wheres the alcohol!? There was one seenof beer pong and only the weird nerd robot guy from grandmas boy took adrink! These are college kids. I know how to have a better time bymyself then then college kids Do at a lake house! lol This film washorribly bad i regret spend the money to go see it in theaters. Atleast i Didn't waste the money to see it in 3D!
BOOGIEMAN-pN (30 April 2012)
Greatly underrated
WoW ! Looking at all those terrible reviews makes me wonder did wewatch the same movie ? I mean, WHAT ELSE DID YOU EXPECT from a 'Snakeson a Plane' director ?!?! THIS is a good TRASH movie, 100 times betterthan "Machete", "Hobo with a shotgun" and similar (soft) horror flicks... I guess the problem must be that it isn't 100% OBVIOUSLY statedthat this is a TRASH MOVIE, like in afore mentioned two, so today'sAverage Joe's in audience couldn't figure it out by themselves. That'swhy I use UPPERCASE LETTERS, because most of you Joe Schmoe's doesn'teven read whole reviews. I say, this movie is at least better than the average of it's genre.Classic example of "expedition gone wrong" horror storyline. Smallgroup of friends on isolated island, getting dispatched one by one.There's even a twist in the plot. If only camera and editing were moredynamic, let's say for example, like in "My Super Psycho Sweet 16: Part2", this movie could've been even awesome.
Neil Welch (30 April 2012)
Yes, of course. Ultra-realistic. Not.
Seven students go to spend a holiday on the luxury holiday home of oneof the girls: it sits on its own island in the Florida everglades. Andthey are having a lovely time when the first shark attack comes.This film is essentially someone stalking the dorm wiping out studentsone by one, except it is sharks not slashers, and the students are allin their bathers. There is a completely preposterous plot developmenthalfway through, then another even more preposterous plot developmentbuilding on the first one, and an utterly idiotic final shot. The castare all unknown and, regrettably, this movie is unlikely to change thatfor any of them. Much of the shark antics are ripped bodily from Jaws.This is the sort of movie which used to be made for the direct-to-videomarket, pumped up by 3D.On the plus side, it is pretty to look at with attractive scenery, thegirls look nice in bikinis, there are six-packs on view for the ladies,the 3D is sometimes effective, and CGI sharks have come on a long way.And there is a shot halfway through featuring a shark and a jetskiwhich made me laugh out loud (it wasn't meant to, I don't think).
DICK STEEL (30 April 2012)
A Nutshell Review: Shark Night
The best part of this film is actually post end-credits, where a musicvideo of a rap song comes on with most of the cast hamming it up andperforming very out of character, singing about the story, theircharacters and their demise, with clips from the film and that ofbehind the scenes during production. So don't leave the hall just yetbecause this comes on right at the end, which trumps the film propersince Shark Night was taking itself way too seriously.Directed by David R. Ellis who was at the helm of films such as Snakeson a Plane and The Final Destination, you would have thought a filmlike Shark Night will be in safe hands, but alas the story by WillHayes and Jesse Studenberg found itself desperate in trying not torepeat the usual formula that so many shark films have found itselfstuck in given the aftermath of Jaws. And it's not easy, so much sothat in this story we have sharks, and not just one single species buta variety of them, existing in a salt water lake, and takes on sometorture porn proportions, if not for Ellis' obsession in thinking thata film that has water and sharks, must feature plenty of tight buttockin bikini bottom shots prominently to please its intended targetaudience.As the story goes we have a group of seven students who decide to spenda relaxing weekend in one of their friend's lake house, if only for abad wakeboarding episode to spark off a series of incidents and raisingtheir awareness that the waters in the lake isn't safe to be in giventhe presence of extremely stealthy characters. Ellis junks the idea ofshowing the fin in the horizon, an art perfected in Jaws andover-utilized by anyone involved in a shark film production to try andramp up suspense. Here, any buildup gets thrown out the window, optingfor very direct, in your face chomping of limbs. There's a money shotinvolved which I have to admit is very well done on film involving aflying shark, although this could be something that exists only in themovies.Don't expect any power-acting from any of the cast members, led by SaraPaxton playing her namesake and the rest playing the usual caricatures- the male himbo, the female slut, an athlete, the nerd and so on, orplot development that has depth that goes beyond the usual numbersbeing made into fodder, with the introduction of a sheriff and twoadditional good for nothing hoodlums. As with most monster movies, thecentral plot involved staying alive and getting out of the danger area,and it's nothing different in Shark Night as well, with eventstranspiring over the course of 24 hours, with an introductory killthrown in for good measure.Special effects wise, perhaps I did not view this in 3D as its intendedformat that the entire film lacked depth and looked way flatter thanany other normal 2D film. The sharks looked horribly CG-ed andunrefined in the final product on film, and I thought this kind ofshoddy work would have been more forgivable if this was adirect-to-video title rather than something meant to be projected on alarge screen. Ideas were clearly running dry as well with each killover relying on shots that featured water from a jacuzzi, with thefateful human victim thrashing around and underwater shots of sharksexercising their razor sharp teeth.Shark films are really a dime a dozen and it's indeed a challenge tocome up with something truly different and worthwhile of one's time.Unfortunately Shark Night isn't the messiah, although I suspect onewill get a lot more from it if it's viewed in gimmicky 3D, since therewere plenty of shots with the sharks leaping toward the screen, jawswide open and primed for some major chomping.
aaron esmonde (30 April 2012)
Scooby-Doo Shark Night in 3D
A weekend at a lake house turns into a nightmare for seven stereotypeyoung vacationers as they are subjected to shark attacks, but its notonly the sharks they need to worry about.There's some good effects and action set ups but Shark Night is poorlyscripted, with an equally poor storyline that compared to Scooby-Doomakes it look like The Usual Suspects. It is certainly is a no brainerbut if you want to see girls in bikini's there's more suitable placesto get your fix or if you must even watch Piranha (2010). There'sreally not much more to say about this clunker.While slightly better in the production department compared to DTVfilms the whole film sinks of yesterdays fish which is odd consideringits is the same director of entertaining The Final Destination (2009)and Cellular (2004) to name a few. It's a shame as everyone loves agood shark film but this just isn't one.
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