Shark Killer

I would be plainly concerned if any viewer DIDN'T approach this movie with deep, piercing doubt. As well done as the stylized opening credits are, they don't inspire confidence, nor do a light tone from the outset, and extraordinarily direct dialogue and storytelling. It's not that a flick unabashedly called 'Shark killer' can't have real worth, but it's safe to say that one is all too accustomed to seeing pure schlock pollute our screens, and this readily seems to fit in with the same tawdry company. In fairness, regardless of any genre labels that one may append, it's clearly built as a pure romp. We get action, we get thriller vibes, and whether in some of the aesthetics on hand, the suggested violence, or - if we're really stretching the terminology - in its "creature feature" nature, there is maybe even a smidgen of "horror" on hand. Yet all these descriptors almost feel too charged for the generally light tenor this broadly maintains; as if to emphasize the point, protagonist Chase is written as some random white guy who also has significant fighting skills, is gifted with swift wit, and wantonly womanizes - the seaside blue collar equivalent of James Bond, frankly. Suffice to say that this isn't exactly a riveting, white-knuckle must-see. But you know what, 'Shark killer' knows what it is, and doesn't pretend otherwise, and it's not half bad, really.

The least that can be said is that the production was approached more earnestly than we have grown to assume of creature features in the twenty-first century; fare from the likes of The Asylum, and/or SyFy, have greatly lowered our expectations. It's definitely not that this is free of the same issues: the music is more kitschy than meaningful (though some themes are terrific); the inevitable romance is so tiresome as to be actively aggravating; the dialogue and storytelling remain very direct, and the plot is heavily predictable; actors of real skill (Arnold Vosloo, Erica Cerra) are forced into small corners; and so on. There's no mistaking the company this keeps. Still, the digital creations are less transparent, the cinematography is solid and the direction is technically sound, and it's readily apparent that more sincere care went into 'Shark killer' than can be said for a preponderance of its nearest kin. Excepting perhaps the most ham-fisted facets, one can imagine how the picture would look if it were produced as a major studio thriller rather than a mid- or low-grade lark. The effects (practical and post-production) are better than in comparable projects, and the stunts, and in every capacity it looks and sounds better - and more professional - than we would anticipate.

By all means, there were ways that this easily could have been improved upon depending on the flavors one wished to accentuate. It could been more strictly action-oriented (think 'The transporter'), or comedic (an action-comedy like 'Rush hour'); there was potential for a more honest thriller, and even more substantial horror (make Nix and his henchman more violent, and/or amplify the marine massacre, etc). Nevertheless, even if only at a mid-range level, 'Shark killer' is actually reasonably well made. It's reasonably enjoyable, even for all its faults, and some moments are unexpectedly shrewd (e.g., a passing ableist line is pointedly latched upon and tossed back at the offending characters in a subsequent scene). Everyone was here just to have a good time (and earn a paycheck), and along the way, they put in sufficient effort for the end result to be modestly entertaining. By no means should one prioritize this or go out of their way to see it; save it for something light on a lazy day, if you're going to watch it at all. It has its shortcomings. It remains decent enough, though, and sometimes that's all a flick needs to be.

If you're looking at this title because you're a Jo Lupo or A.L.i.E. fan, it's worth a watch, though some of the scenes will be hard to swallow, and lets hope Ms Cerra didn't drive that car in those shoes...

This isn't as scary as Jaws or The Meg, but it's far better made then a SciFi Channel monster of the week movie, even though the big bad moves more like a Tuna then a Great White.

If you're doing a date-night double feature, put this one on first while you're eating popcorn, then watch The Meg or similar afterwards. Once you're in to the second act, this one moves along nicely.

It really only has one plot point missed, them not going back for the rest of the villains collection.

Brought out to South Africa, a professional shark hunter and his assistant are tasked with retrieving a stolen diamond inside a man- eating shark located in the waters, only for a ruthless crime-lord to complicate his mission and tries to complete it quickly.

This one wasn't all that bad of an effort though there's some problems with it. One of the main issues against this one is the fact that there's a far greater emphasis on the rather tedious and bland crime/thriller antics than it does on the overall horror tones of the shark attacks. Since there's a great deal of time in the first half here going on about the missing diamond and the double- cross between the crime lord and his boss that really takes up quite a bit of time here which really holds off the horror action considerably. Likewise, it's also filled with a slew of scenes that are based around that crime/thriller scenario from the encounters with the thugs and the meeting up with the two in meetings over what's being done to retrieve the diamond which are basically filler scenes to prevent this from really settling into a proper horror angle. Even the late-film angle of the sibling rivalry between the two of them makes no sense of it's inclusion and readily screams useless material that's unnecessary in the film as a whole. From the numerous shootouts and encounters with the gun-toting henchmen in the later half there's a lot of rather fun action scenes throughout here that don't have any kind of real horror action that it really does seem more like an action/thriller rather than a wholesale horror film, and it does conflict so wildly with the true horror action within here that there's a disjointed pace here where it's all about a series of crime/thriller scenes before it clumsily inserts a shark attack then carries on with the crime/thriller afterward to an extended time without going back, and overall this here really hurts this one. There's still some rather fun moments featured amongst the rather troubling antics, starting with the film's enjoyable pace here to still keep this enjoyable while holding off the film's flaws. By constantly keeping the film going forward with different encounters, brawls and gunfights that even though there's no real shark action featured here, the film does manage to keep moving along at a rather enjoyable and overall frantic pace which is what keeps it interesting. That way once the few attacks do come into play here it's got enough to be worthwhile, and there's some good attacks here in the opening beach attack that gets this started off nicely, the marina attack that has some fun stalking scenes of it going around the oblivious party-goers before the main assault and the rather creepy exploration of the shipwreck below the surface where they encounter the main shark in numerous close calls that leads to a chilling swim back to the surface for some really fine scenes overall here. Likewise, the big finale here where they battle against the shark with the different tactics and managing to get some nice rousing action covered against it which is quite fun. Overall, though, there's way too much crime/thriller here instead of true horror.

Rated R: Graphic Violence and Language.

Now I know I probably shouldn't say this, but I did rather enjoy "Shark Killer". I am sure that was almost entirely down to the eye-candy Derek Theler's quite tongue in cheek effort as local Lothario "Chase" who pretty much charms and sleeps his way through life! One morning he is summoned to his hoodlum stepbrother's home where he is given a challenge. Find a black-finned shark that has swallowed a priceless diamond before it's discovered by his nemesis "Nix" (Arnold "Mummy" Vosloo). What we discover quite quickly is that "Chase" is no slouch when it comes to the ninja skills, and that's useful when he and unwilling partner "Jasmine" (Erica Cerra) become the targets of their rather menacing and brutal foe. If you are looking for a silly film about a shark, then you'd be better off watching Tommy Wiseau's "Killer Shark" (2023) nonsense because there is virtually no shark action in this action drama-cum-burgeoning (and predictable) romance. I think there are some South African accents here, but they don't come across consistently enough to be sure - and as far as anything that could be called "acting" is concerned, then maybe we do need to find the shark for that too. Still, Sheldon Wilson uses his key asset - an handsome man - to reasonable effect in this low budget film to deliver something that - try as I might - I just couldn't hate.

Right, well I sat down to watch the 2015 movie "Shark Killer" without having read the movie's synopsis. So I blindly believed that this movie was going to be a movie with sharks being the focal point of the storyline.

Oh, how mistaken I was. This movie was not about sharks, but instead about people chasing after a shark to cut out a rare diamond from its belly. So I was sorely disappointed with this movie, as I had expected and hoped for a shark creature feature.

While the movie wasn't at all what I had expected, it should be said that the movie actually wasn't all that bad. It was watchable and semi-entertaining actually. Well, while it wasn't an outstanding movie, it made for adequate entertainment for a single viewing.

"Shark Killer" has the likes of Derek Theler, Erica Cerra and Arnold Vosloo on the cast list, so it wasn't actually all bad in terms of casted performers.

Visually then "Shark Killer" wasn't a particularly impressive movie. There were a few odd shark segments here and there, but nothing in the likes of movies such as "Jaws", "The Meg", "Deep Blue Sea", and such.

"Shark Killer" turned out to be a cheesy movie actually, but still watchable. I am rating it a four out of ten stars. Watchable, yes, but disappointingly not a movie about sharks as the main focus.