Shark Killer, 2015.
Directed by Sheldon Wilson.
Starring Derek Theler, Erica Cerra, Arnold Vosloo, Paul du Toit and Wayne Harrison.
SYNOPSIS:
A shark wrangler with a fear of the sea has to hunt a shark to retrieve a diamond from its stomach for his crooked brother.
In many ways it is unfortunate that Steven Spielberg did such an amazing job with Jaws, as every single shark adventure that has been made ever since just pales in comparison with what is pretty much a perfect movie. That isn’t to say that other shark movies aren’t enjoyable but you do spend a lot of time pointing things out and saying “That was in Jaws” or “They stole that from Jaws”.
And this is very true for the first five minutes of Shark Killer, as we are on a Hawaiian beach (or so it says) with a town official declaring the beaches open after a local fisherman catches a shark that had been troubling the swimmers. However, it turns out that the wrong shark was caught but the dodgy mayor (Wayne Harrison) isn’t concerned and wants to keep the beaches open – we’ve seen all this before and we know where it leads, right?
True to form, the real shark turns up but is met with wise-cracking ladies man Chase Walker (Derek Theler – Baby Daddy), who despatches the giant fish and gets the girl, like all movie heroes should. The next day Walker’s adopted brother Jake (Paul du Toit), a crime boss, sends his beautiful lawyer Jasmine (Erica Cerra – Blade: Trinity) to bring Walker over to Cape Town, South Africa to hunt and kill a great white shark that has swallowed a valuable diamond. Naturally, Jake isn’t the only gangster after the diamond and soon Chase finds himself in trouble with local crime lord Nix (Arnold Vosloo – The Mummy/Hard Target), who also wants the smart-mouthed Walker to get the diamond for him.
So despite an opening scene that will make you root for the shark due to Derek Theler’s obnoxious performance as the infuriatingly nauseating Walker, Shark Killer does actually get better as it goes along, thanks mainly to a confident performance from Erica Cerra as the lawyer-cum-tour guide and her banter with Theler. On his own, Theler is very irritating and his character very thinly written (the skills Walker has and his often-mentioned phobia of the water just don’t match up) but he and Cerra have a nice interplay that keeps the plot bouncing along and at least keeps you invested in Jasmine’s plight, as she is the best character in the film. The appearance of Arnold Vosloo as Nix also lends the film a bit of weight, and although his character is basically a 1970’s Bond villain in all but name Vosloo plays it with the right amount of menace and charm (and he also looks pretty mean when he’s dressed up in his “work” clothes, which make him look like a torturer out of a Hostel movie). Paul du Toit also improves as the film nears its end, his character turning into Joe Pesci in Lethal Weapon 3, his strange accent getting an explanation and adding a little comedy to proceedings.
The shark element in Shark Killer is really kept in the background as this is really a crime movie that has a fibreglass shark fin pop up every so often to remind you of what is at stake. The effects are pretty poor, as you would expect, but what the filmmakers have done is keep the underwater shots fairly murky, which hides a large amount of the bad CGI, although inserting a bit of proper shark footage in a few scenes doesn’t really do anything except highlight how dodgy the effects actually are.
But in comparison to most modern creature features such as Sharknado or Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus it must be said that Shark Killer is an improvement in that it has a story, some decent acting and is enjoyable enough while you’re watching it. However, once you actually start to analyse it there isn’t that much more to it than either of the previously mentioned films, and take Erica Cerra and Arnold Vosloo out of it completely and it wouldn’t really be worth bothering with. For shark movie completists only.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Chris Ward
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=5zpb9S9uD1s
Originally published July 20, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
