{2jtab: Movie Review}

Sharktopus - Blu-ray Review

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4 stars

Coming straight out of another era of filmmaking, Sharktopus begs to ask the tough question that Hollywood won’t.  What’s wrong with a slice of sci-fi cheese?  If you ask famed producer of all things mighty and awesome Roger Corman, your answer will be a resounding, chest-thumping battle cry of “Why nothing at all!” and he’s right.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with the biggest slice of cinematic cheese, it’s just that not many have ever been able to successfully offer it.  Oh, they try…they just fail.  Roger Corman, however, is a God of B-movie meanderings and, without fail, always serves up only the freshest of Easy Mac selections.

Without ever batting an eye at its own ridiculousness, Sharktopus delivers on its titular promise of B-movie rock and schlock.  Bad acting? Check.  Bad FX?  Check.  Scantily clad women?  Check.  Eric Roberts?  Check.  A mutant monster?  Again, check.  Sharktopus has everything you could possibly want from a matinee-styled made-for-television monster flick and more.

Written by Mike Maclean, Sharktopus isn’t so much a cautionary tale about the violent consequences of meddling with the natural world and combining species (shark meet octopus) in order to build the best weapon as it is a whole lot of schlocky good-spirited fun with hilarious kill-shots and awesome dialogue.  Genetic scientist Nathan Sands (Eric Roberts) has himself the perfect super-weapon for the navy.  It’s called S-11 and it is hungry for some underwater battle.

This half-shark, half-octopi beast is controlled by a navigational link by his daughter Nichole Sands (Sara Malakul Lane), but when an unexpected training mission causes a few civilian deaths and burns out the link between humans and monster, the beast decides to head to Mexico to start chomping on all the flesh he can find.  Trading top dollars for some bad blood, the team of Sands and Sands hires mercenary and ex-team member Andy Flynn (Kerem Bursin) to hunt S-11 down and bring it back alive.

Hounded by a CNE reporter and a goofy cameraman, the team encounters more drama then they expected in their hunt for the beast down the coast of Mexico.  Complete with a hysterical cameo from Corman himself as a beach bum, Sharktopus trades logic (its use in a movie like this is???) for a face-melting good time that will have you longing for a repeat viewing.

Originally produced for Syfy, Sharktopus, directed by Declan O’Brien, doesn’t float upon its stellar budget of high gloss special effects, but it does remain above the ocean’s surface with some clever gags and hysterically appropriate kill scenes – one on a bungee cord, another upon the side of the Queen Mary – and that’s all it needs to remain entertaining and guilt-free.

If you are expecting some high caliber acting from anyone involved in this picture, well, what the hell are you thinking?  Move along.  Part of the joy in this picture comes from the atrocities performed on-screen.  The dialogue is every bit as cheesy and illogical as the performances.  All around, this is low-grade stuff – real rebel-yell material.  The special effects are as flat and unpolished as the acting, but – for the picture – it works perfectly.

Sharktopus is certainly not a movie for everyone – only those appreciative of B-movie madness need apply (and not the Michael Bay-heads out there) – but it makes for some gooey splatter-house entertainment regardless.

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{2jtab: Film Info}

Sharktopus - Blu-ray ReviewMPAA Rating: Not rated by the MPAA.
Director
: Declan O'Brien
Writer
: Mike MacLean
Cast:
Eric Roberts; Kerem Bursin; Sara Malakul Lane; Héctor Jiménez; Liv Boughn
Genre
: Horror | Sci-Fi
Tagline:
Half-Shark. Half -Octopus. All Terror.
Official Site:
Memorable Movie Quote:
"Oh, Pez, I could just hug you right now. I mean, if you were better looking and had better hygiene. "
Distributor:
Syfy (2010) (USA) (TV)
Release Date:
September 25, 2011
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
March 15, 2011

Synopsis: A half-shark, half-octopus creature created for the military, creates a whole lot of terror in Mexico while a scientist who helped created it tries to capture/kill it.

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{2jtab: Blu-ray Details}

Sharktopus - Blu-ray Review

Component Grades
Movie

Blu-ray Disc
4 stars

3 Stars



Blu-ray Experience
3.5 stars

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - March 15, 2011
Screen Formats: 1.78:1
Subtitles
: English SDH, Spanish
Audio:
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Discs: 25GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)

Spring Break never looked better. Anchor Bay’s 1080p transfer is rich in texture and appropriately saturated.  The colors are bright and solid and the black levels are deep and never blurry.  At times, the picture looks a little spoiled and oddly littered with grime effects.  Certainly, this could be a director’s decision to amplify the muck of the situations experienced by our heroes. The sound is also rich and dynamic with heavy’s hitting hard and is presented in a stunning 7.1 mix.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • There is a great commentary track presented by Roger and Julie Corman.  It’s a feature-long interview by HorrorNews.Net that covers Corman’s career in motion pictures and, more specifically, the making of this film.  A must-hear for Corman’s fans.

Special Features:

Here is where we get a little weak.  Other than a weak and wonky trailer, there are none.  Disappointing that we don’t even get any deleted scenes to much upon.

{2jtab: Trailer}

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