Have made no secret in the past of intensely disliking, and even outright hating a lot, a vast majority of The Asylum's and SyFy's (near-universally maligned for good reason) output, though there is curiosity as to whether they are capable of making something good and compulsive about their output's badness. Admittedly, both The Asylum and SyFy do have a small group of watchable films and the occasional (big emphasis on that word) above average one, unfortunately outweighed by the lacklustre at best and often dreadful films they churn out.
Am not going to say that 'Ice Sharks' is a good film because it isn't. Far from it. At the same time, 'Ice Sharks' is actually one of the more halfway watchable low budget shark films, which in general do not have a good reputation. Especially those from either SyFy, The Asylum or a collaboration of both. Took 'Ice Sharks' for what it was and what it intended to be, as is the intent with every film watched by me, and in a way it was more or less what was expected, in terms of its problems, but also much better in overall quality.
There are certainly obvious strikes against 'Ice Sharks'. The low budget definitely does show, especially in the risible special effects which strictly speaking are not worth mentioning really at a risk at going on a rant about them alone all night. The script is weak, with cheesy humorous moments, mawkish serious ones that feel like padding and rambling gibberish (for a SyFy/Asylum collaboration that was not unexpected).
Story-wise, 'Ice Sharks' is incredibly silly with ridiculousness taken to extremes, its logical lapses in number and quality deserving another all-night rant of their own but that's another story. The music is very intrusive and repetitive, with the sound seeming at times to favour it over the dialogue. The characters are sketchy in development and pretty bland in writing, most far from convincing in their occupation with Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau especially looking out of place and like he accidentally boarded the wrong plane.
On the other hand, there were surprisingly enough elements that made 'Ice Sharks' watchable, as long as you judge it as a semi-guilty pleasure at best and not as a good film. The scenery is nice and, regardless of how they look and the lack of expert knowledge on sharks, the sharks have personality and some menace. The shark action is a sizable amount, and it is surprisingly more suspenseful and less overboard-goofy than one usually finds in low budget shark films, especially for one from SyFy/Asylum.
Although the story is far from great, it is not dull either and there is enough to maintain attention and intrigue. Enough is fun and suspenseful as long as it is not taken too seriously, most low budget creature films don't have that distinction so credit is due here. For this type of film too, the acting remarkably, considering the flawed character and script writing, is not too bad at all, they at least look engaged and look as though they were trying (when it comes to other low-budget films seen recently this was something of a refreshment).
Summing up, far from great, or even good, but one can do with far worse when taking into account the dubious general reputation of SyFy/The Asylum films and low budget shark films. 5/10 Bethany Cox
