‘Terror runs deep’
Shark Night is a 2011 American action horror film about vacationing teens who are attacked by sharks at a lake. Also known as Shark Night 3D
Directed by David R. Ellis (The Final Destination; Asylum 2008; Snakes on a Plane; Final Destination 2) from a screenplay co-written by Will Hayes and Jesse Studenberg. Produced by Chris Briggs, Tawny Ellis, Mike Fleiss, Lynette Howell Taylor and Kelly McCormick.
The movie stars Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Katharine McPhee, Joel David Moore, Donal Logue, Joshua Leonard and Sinqua Walls.
Reviews:
“This is a modern-day exploitation picture through and through, with no intention other than to provide some tongue-in-cheek cheap thrills. That being the goal, I have to acknowledge that it succeeds. The humans are devoured in a variety of creative ways, with each shark attack providing a rush of adrenaline.” The Aisle Seat
“Populated with some truly bad actors (e.g. Moore, Paxton, Carmack, and Donal Logue, here as an inept sheriff) and imbecilic plot developments, Shark Night 3D is a leaden effort, refusing to shed its seriousness and explode as a violent free-for-all, teeming with spastic hunting sequences and preposterous shark-fu […] depressingly unimaginative, artificial (the shark CGI is iffy at best), and occasionally distasteful.” Blu-ray.com
“There’s nothing new here, just the usual bad shark movie stuff, except done with far worse special effects, scripting, and characters than it has ever been done with before. Oh and most of the shark munching happens off-camera. Shark attacks are brutal and this movie’s rated PG-13. They can’t actually show those pointy teeth sinking into human flesh…” Cinema Blend
” …it sees itself not only as scary movie, but a seriously scary movie at that. It’s easy to spot the moments where the movie wants us to ooh and ahh, but these are all ruined by bad special effects, poor pacing, or a total lack of logic. I usually don’t complain about a movie’s rating, but the PG-13 really hurts Shark Night, as there’s little blood and the party seems relatively tame.” DVD Sleuth
“It features tried and true plot devices such as non-working cell phones, exploding speed boats and killers that like blab and blab before actually killing a character. We can deal with that too. I just don’t know if we can deal with all of that in the same movie, along with a dearth of boobs and severed limbs which all adds up to amazingly inert shark eating movie experience. That might be a little too much for us.” Film Critics United
“If you go into Shark Night 3-D with a willingness to surrender to the silliness of it all and with low expectations for cinematic staples such as acting and writing, then there’s a much greater chance you at least won’t regret having spent your hard-earned cash on a mediocre film. A light popcorn flick best seen under the influence, Shark Night 3-D is so bad that you might just enjoy yourself.” The Independent Critic
“All that separates Shark Night from the campy deliciousness of a B movie is the actors themselves. They chose to portray their characters as multi-faceted and dramatic, and fail miserably at both. The Laugh Riot’s own tag line is, “Terror runs deep.” Catchy, but irrelevant — considering the setting is a lake. Good for a chuckle and a groan, but I’d only buy the DVD to use as a coaster.” Sonic Cinema
“There could have been more gore, more skin, and maybe a little more cheesiness but this is better than many a SyFy flick and not nearly as over-the-top as Piranha 3D. Still, Ellis knew his audience well and gave the sweet stuff the best he could so it was satisfying but did not try to pack so much in so that the viewer felt bloated after. He also did not take himself too seriously and just let us enjoy ourselves.” The Video Graveyard
“The first half-hour desperately wants to be Piranha 3D with a PG-13 rating. This means we get the crassest dialogue that money can buy, but yet could still be printed in a family newspaper, plus several scenes of hot chicks getting topless with their backs to the camera or underwater with the camera firmly above water. This actually gets pretty funny watching the filmmakers dancing on the head of a pin.” Video Junkie
“Ellis does manage to do some funny twists on the usual horror movie clichés. You think the dog is going to get eaten but he doesn’t. They set the black guy up to die first, but then he lives (for a while at least). And you know when they have the “ugly” smart girl who instantly becomes hot when she takes off her glasses? Well, this time it’s a nerd who becomes a hunk when he takes his peepers off.” The Video Vacuum
Filming locations:
Millennium Studios – 300 Douglas Street, Shreveport, Louisiana (studio)
Shreveport, Louisiana (locations)
Filming dates:
10 September 2010 – 21 November 2010
Technical details:
90 minutes
Audio: Dolby Digital
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Budget:
$25 million
Worldwide theatrical box office:
$41,363,927
Trailer [720p]:
Best of:
