SWAMP SHARK (2011)

SWAMP SHARK (2011)

Tagline: Terror Has a New Home!

I played a little ball myself… 

So lately I have been reviewing a ton of shark flicks. Recently coming off of all 4 JAWS reviews, I’ve seen the best and the worst.

In this one, Sheriff Watson (played by Robert Davi probably best known from THE GOONIES) is part of a smuggling operation for rare animals along the Louisiana Bayou (so he's like a terrible sheriff). One escapes, and you can tell by the title, it’s a freakin shark. This thing can handle fresh water just fine and like every movie shark, it’s hungry. It’s Gator Fest time and Krystal Broussard (played by  Kristy Swanson from BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) who owns a local restaurant, is gearing up for the big event. Watson is pretty much in love with her and he shows it by treating her and her brother especially like crap. I hear that is how you won women over in the Bayou in 2011. It doesn’t take long before the bodies are hitting the swamp floor and this shark is gonna just handle everyone who even remotely comes near the water. Krystal and her family decide to take matters into their own hands before it's too late. God knows that crap sheriff is not going to help.  

This movie sneaks in some other decent actors like D.B. Sweeney whose most notable role was probably the jerk ice skater in THE CUTTING EDGE. We also get a Wade Boggs sighting, (yeah the Major League Baseball player) who plays Deputy Stanley (he actually says the line that starts off this review). Jason Rogel (who had roles in THE BABYSITTER: KILLER QUEEN and RIM OF THE WORLD) is also in this movie who comes across like Jacob Batalon (Ned from SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING) in this thing. Jason even kind of looks like Jacob. So unlike many of the “let’s throw a random shark out there” movies, this one didn’t phone it in on the cast by any means. As a result, most of the people in this movie are putting in an effort and I think that is what helps set this one apart. It’s also nice to see that they weren’t expecting Kristy Swanson to carry this whole freakin movie by herself. 

Effects-wise the shark itself is hardly seen and the attacks are really mediocre, but it all seems to work for the most part. We are not expecting JAWS here, we are expecting campy garbage of some sort. Or at least I was. Director Griff Furst is not only an actor as well, but he’s done several shark flicks (he also directed GHOST SHARK, TRAILER PARK SHARK, and NIGHTMARE SHARK). So he knows how to get at least a bit of dread out of his cast (he’s also responsible for LAKE PLACID 3 and ALLIGATOR ALLEY). The movie even sort of makes fun of JAWS based on one of the attempts to kill the sharks that ends like the Myth Busters Episode regarding JAWS. It’s actually pretty funny. This movie does have its humor moments, but overall I didn’t look at it as a comedy. It’s also not trying to be something it isn’t. 

Cinematically this one isn’t great, but it’s about what you would expect. The soundtrack and score also leave much to be desired. However, this movie is pretty fun and I do think I’d watch it again. I don’t know that I would buy it. SWAMP SHARK gets a 4 out of 7 for me. Nothing amazing, but in the deep ocean of countless shark flicks, this one is pretty decent.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF BULLET FILMS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.  

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