Hammerhead

I was so worried that Jeffrey Combs would wind up in the gutter somewhere when the last Star Trek series went off the air, but his incredible skill at character acting may have saved not only his career, but this mediocre film. Jeffrey Combs carried off his role as mad-scientist, Dr. King, like a real pro. While its not the worst Sci-Fi Channel original film, its not the best either. The effects weren't really lame, so much as non-existent. When you have a character in your film that is half man, half hammerhead shark, its usually a good idea to show it eventually. Instead, all we get are a bunch of cut-away scenes and bad angle shots of a terrible rubber suit. A solid team effort from not only Combs, but William Forsythe and Hunter Tylo, managed to save this film and make some of the lack-luster dialog seem almost interesting. Sorry Sci-Fi channel, B-.

This was a really funny movie.

Every 1 in the movie was trying to be serious that is what made this movie so funny. I mean come on a shark's head on a human body. Can it get any funnier. Good job Sci-Fi keep the comedy movies coming. I never thought movies could get anymore retarded. If they keep it up they will have to rename the sci fie channel the comedy sci fi channel or something like that.

I cant wait 4 the next blockbuster movie from sci fi.

Ill be ready with a bowl of popcorn and a case of beer or a bottle of liquor and Ill be ready to laugh it up again!!!

Note: "Hammerhead" is occasionally known as "SharkMan" in certain releases. Because another film uses the name "SharkMan" which predates this one, I will refer to this film as "Hammerhead."

Hammerhead is one of many shark films Nu Image made during the 2000s. It is arguably the most interesting of them in its IMDb summary. A scientist whose son is diagnosed with cancer splices his DNA with that of a shark to produce a hybrid creature with the brain of a man and the ferocity of a shark. The creature does not actually resemble a hammerhead shark despite the title.

This plot point was utilized in Shark Attack, another Nu Image film. The idea stems from the quack book Sharks Don't Get Cancer combined with The Island of Dr. Moreau. The creature when fully visible is impressive. The costume doesn't look like a school mascot at least while the actor is not moving.

It's a shame the shark attacks are edited so haphazardly that you can never tell what is happening. The edits appear so quick in succession you get the idea that the shark is moving next to his victims rather than attacking them.The camera often focuses on the Hammerhead's eyes which become repetitive in the frequent attacks. Despite the fact that CGI was very bad in 2005, I would have preferred to see the victims attacked with a CGI creature. At least we could see the entire shot. Since the shark can travel on land, why didn't they portray him like a sneaky slasher villain who moves in the shadows?

Nu Image shark films often feature incomprehensible slowdown that throws you out of the scene. Such happens here. You see someone running and for no reason the scene slows down for emphasis on something? I guess?

The actors are alright. No one other than Jeffrey Combs is memorable. His performance as the stereotypical mad scientist is as campy as ever. If you are a fan of his, he makes the film better than it would otherwise be. His performance adds to the otherworldly atmosphere that's weird for its own sake. I especially like the tour he gives through the greenhouse where he keeps other weird hybrids. Perhaps were this not a made for tv film, the filmmakers could have gone further with the oddities. The film reminds me in some ways of the more recent Annihilation just not as developed. The televisual storytelling limits how much worldbuilding the film can do.

Most of this movie is a group of characters running around as Hammerhead picks them off. He can move as well through water as land. There is some gore during a lab scene although not as much during the shark attacks. The survivors really don't do much other than exist until the end. The bad music doesn't help with the increasing tedium of the lack of plot.

Hammerhead is not a good movie. Fans of Jeffrey Combs may want to check it out after seeing his more famous films. The introductory laboratory scenes are weird and bloody; they are the best part of the movie. By the 30 minute mark, you have seen everything it has to offer.

This low budget B horror's plot comes with all the amenities - mad scientist complete with sidekick, malicious corporate greed of pharmaceutical industry, eccentric and extreme genetic engineering, and information technology....can't leave that out.

Start with strange sequence of hot looking nameless boaters that foolishly decide to take a dip in the waters near an uncharted island and end up chum for swarming hammerhead sharks.....

Cut to weak back story implying the stock decline of a generic pharma corporation which motivates its wicked Shakespeare quoting CEO to entertain an un-solicited offer made by a former employee/scientist that was jilted out of his job as head of research and who also happens to be a nut...of course (total Herbert West wannabe). He is offering up a new stem cell technology that could make tons o' cash...or so it seems...This lures in several employees to his Moreau-ish island (must have been quite an impressive exit package from the company when he was let go for him to afford an island) to validate his scientific findings including the CEO and, co-incidentally, the ex-fiancé of the mad scientist's son now morphed sharkuman (how convenient)....

The plan, sort of, is to rekindle lost love between the former nuptials while exacting revenge on the former colleagues for his termination. (Sheez, how can this guy be bitter? He has his own friggen' island after all...).

Soon, everyone is on the run (from endless supply of security guards toting heavy weaponry, from mutant plants – can there be an uncharted island without man-eating plants?, from sharky son's appetite for carnage, from quack daddy's breeding plans, and from lack of a cell phone signal)...and they all must learn to work together to get off the island alive!

Will anyone escape? Will a new species be created? Watch it and find out.

There is some entertainment value in this movie, but don't expect much...for the true Combs fan, this is not to be missed.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

A scientist on an island is in deep sorrow about the loss of his son who died of kidney cancer. So he thinks: why not turn my dead son into a hammerhead shark. Well, who wouldn't? It's a little hard to cope with the fact that the hammerhead shark that's killing everybody is constantly being called "Paul". Also, William Forsythe's cast as a MacGyver-kick-ass-savingtheday- kinda hero lacks credibility. On the other hand there are a few hot chicks who make you actually look at the screen while shark Paul bites another one to death. As a matter of fact I find bad b-movies quite amusing. But for my taste it would have been a much better movie if it was made for say 1000000 bucks less. Then it might have been fun.