Sharknado - Movie Review

Rating: 3 out of 5

You couldn't even say this movie is so bad that it's good, because it's seriously terrible, but it's also hilariously entertaining. Sometimes it means to be idiotic, but more often we are laughing because the effects are so appalling, the script is nonsensical and the cast look like they got lost and wandered onto the set by accident. Fans of awful movies won't want to miss it.

The premise is simply ridiculous: Los Angeles is in the grip of a shark infestation, as swimmers in about four inches of water are being gobbled up by Great Whites. Just then, a freak hurricane arrives from Mexico carrying water-spouts packed with sharks that are dropped into the city streets. Our hero is Fin (Ziering), a surfer dude who's worried about his estranged wife April (Reid) and their two grown children (Peeples and Hittinger). So he grabs his best buddy Baz (Simmons), the tough-girl barmaid Nova (Scerbo) and a local drunk (Heard) and they charge to the rescue. After a series of outrageous adventures, they come up with a crazy plan to save the city.

Mashing together every disaster movie cliche imaginable, along with nonstop amusing Jaws references and L.A. in-jokes, the film isn't nearly as stupid as it looks. And it looks really stupid. There isn't a single sequence that makes a bit of logical sense due to the dirt-cheap production values and clunky digital effects. Every now and then, the filmmakers edit in a documentary shot of actual sharks swimming just to remind us what they look like, as opposed to the clumsy rubber and digital variety that fills the screen.

But there's plenty to enjoy here. Have fun spotting the continuity errors (it's pouring with rain but the sun is shining). Guess which moronic character will get eaten next (there are some surprises along the way). And wait for the next deranged random comment ("Why is there a retirement home next to the airport?" "Because old people can't hear!"). The film is a riot of dopey scriptwriting, wooden acting, physics-defying action and soap-opera hysterics. And the big finale is so audaciously, insanely bad that you'll be crying for more.

Facts and Figures

Year: 2013

Genre: Action/Adventure

Run time: 86 mins

In Theaters: Thursday 11th July 2013

Budget: $1000 thousand

Production compaines: The Asylum, Southward Films

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 3 / 5

IMDB: 3.3 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director: Anthony C. Ferrante

Producer: David Michael Latt

Screenwriter: Thunder Levin

Starring: Ian Ziering as Fin, Tara Reid as April, Cassie Scerbo as Nova, John Heard as George, Jaason Simmons as Baz, Sumiko Braun as Deanna, Adrian Bustamante as Kelso, Diane Chambers as Agnes, Chuck Hittinger as Matt, Aubrey Peeples as Claudia, Connor Weil as Luellyn, Christopher Wolfe as Colin, Robbie Rist as Bus Driver

Also starring: David Michael Latt