Shark Evil is a 2023 Chinese action horror film about a Great White that attacks fin poachers, some celebrating students and a model. Also known as White Shark
Directed by Chen Huanxiang from a screenplay co-written with Gao Feng. The movie stars Chen Xinzhe, Dong Fan, Wei Xiaoxuan and Huang Ziling.
Our review:
A couple of years ago, the Chinese made a series of fantastically entertaining but flawed shark movies: from Land Shark to Horror Shark, Blood Shark, Escape of Shark and so on. It’s been a while, but we’ve finally got another one. And boy oh boy was it worth the wait.
Believe it or not, the movie does have a plot. It’s pretty standard, but in the end, it’s surely not what you’re here for.
Four friends who graduated from the same university reunite to celebrate the birthday of one of the girls. Also tagging along is the girlfriend of one of the friends who just so happens to be a famous model. They gather on a yacht where they will enact a plan to fake a shark sighting that will lead to a marriage proposal.
But wouldn’t you just know it, things don’t go quite to plan? A seemingly annoyed shark, who just finished slaughtering a fishing boat full of poachers, is on the loose and wants to add five more victims to his already impressive tally.
This movie has one of the best opening sequences I have ever seen in a Chinese shark movie. Slickly edited, it shows a bunch of shark-fin poachers trying to catch the big one until it turns the tables on them. It’s a hell of a way to start the movie and set up the excitement.
And strangely, Shark Evil continues at a decent pace until about the halfway mark. We get some brief introductions of our main characters and then more carnage occurs until the movie just stops as it has gone all gung-ho on the action far too quickly and needs some time to reset the audiences’ expectations and build up the rather entertaining finale.
Unlike most Chinese monster movies and creature features, this one isn’t pushing an agenda or message, which means what you get here is a pure Asylum-style movie that’s more concerned with entertaining you than lecturing you. And it achieves its purpose easily, helped immensely by the presence of easy-on-the-eyes young ladies.
Even the effects of the shark are good, with the CGI blending in quite well with the characters. In fact, the only really noticeably bad effect is when the characters are swimming underwater! And hilariously the movie’s already limited budget couldn’t extend a tiny bit further, where at the end we hear the rescue helicopter, yet we don’t get to see it. Maybe next time.
Chinese shark movies are some of my favourites, and this one just joined the top three list alongside Escape of Shark and Land Shark.
The Arty Dans, MOVIES & MANIA
YouTube review:
‘Kill count’ video:
Release:
August 23, 2023, online.
Original title:
食人鲨 “Man-eating Shark”
Quick links:
Asian movies | Chinese movies | More shark movies
Sharksploitation! 160+ shark films from Jaws onwards [updated]
More Chinese creature features/monster movies:
12 Hours aka Polar Pursuit
Abyssal Spider
Alien Monster Invasion
Alien Awakening aka Alien Invasion
Alien Monster
The Antarctic Octopus
Big Octopus
Big Shark Attack
Big Snake King
Bigfoot 2 aka Sasquatch
The Blood Alligator
The Bloodthirsty Bees
Bloodthirsty Spider
Bugs 3D
Chang’an Fog Monster
Cockroach Tide
Crazy Spider
Crocodile Island
Dinosaur World (2020)
Death Worm
Deep Sea Mutant Snake
Dragon Pond Monster
Escape from the Shark’s Mouth
Giant Crocodile
Giant Python aka Python Island
Giant Spider
Horror Shark
Huge Shark aka Terror Shark
Insect Disaster
Invisible Alien
Iron Blood Guard
Junkrat Train aka Rat Disaster
Jurassic Island
Jurassic Revival
Killer Bee Invasion
Killer Shark
The Labyrinth (giant centipedes)
The Lake
Land Shark
Mega Crocodile
Metamorphosis aka Mutant Tyrannosaurus vs. Giant Python
Monster (2022)
Monster 731
Monster Attack
Monster Attack 2
Monster Island
Monster of Lake Heaven
Monster of the Deep
Monsters (2015)
Monty Python aka Monster Python
Monty Python 2
Mutant Python
Mutation on Mars
Rage Centipede
Restart the Earth
Rising Boas in a Girl’s School
Sand Python Siege
Sea Monster
Shark Evil
Snake aka Serpent of Death
Snake 2
Snake: Dinosaur vs. Python
Snake Girl
Snake Island Python
Snake King (2020)
Snake King (2021)
Snow Monster
Underground Monster
Varanus Priscus
Variation Hydra
We Are Werewolves
We Are Werewolves 2
Worm Apocalypse aka Insect Disaster
