In the past, I have interviewed 80s pop sensation Tiffany about her role in Mega Python vs Gateroid. Then I interviewed former Heroes star Brea Grant about her role in Ice Road Terror. Earlier this week I interviewed Richard Tanne about his role in Swamp Shark. I’ve watched all three films, obviously, in support of the actors I’ve spoken too; as well as being a SyFy fan. I can say, at least in my opinion, that Swamp Shark is probably one of the best creature features to come out on SyFy in a very long time. Read my review of the film below to find out why.
In Swamp Shark, a mutated, prehistoric killer shark is released into a Louisiana bayou during an animal smuggling trade gone wrong. Because, ya know, we all have a giant shark lying around for swap meets. After a mutilated body pops up in the rural town, everyone thinks it is a pack of alligators. But, the town needs to have their Gator Fest celebrity because it is suffering post-oil spill. So, it’s up a woman named Rachel, her boyfriend, a couple other guys, and an FBI agent (or CIA, or INS…I forget…) to save the day!
One of the qualities that puts Swamp Shark above the majority of the other SyFy films is the actors ability to actually act! All of the main and supporting cast are great, and even the little bit parts are better than most of the cannon fodder we’ve seen on SyFy. Kristy Swanson is still amazing, years after Buffy The Vampire Slayer. D.B. Sweeny has been acting for a solid 26 years, and there’s obvious reasons why. Robert Davi is an award winning actor. Even new-comer Richard Tanne does a wonderful job. Usually the cast in SyFy films are really cheesy, really stale, or really forgetful. It was refreshing to see a cast who knew how to convey emotion and show more than one facial expression. Will any of them win any awards for their role in Swamp Shark? No, but when compared to Mountain of The Sasquatch or Mega Shark, I mean… Come on.
The second most redeemable quality is the film’s use of an actual shark prop instead of relying solely on CGI. The team behind Swamp Shark crafted a mechanical shark, much like the shark you saw in Jaws. The shark pops out of the water, bites people, skims the surface, etc. It brings the shark to life, which is weird because CGI moves easier than mechanical props, but CGI is a lot hokier. The fact that the crew behind Swamp Shark tried to create a mechanical shark shows that they put much more effort into the film than the usual SyFy films.
In general, I think the film was a lot less cheesier. SyFy films are known for this, and some fans even look forward to seeing film cheese. Some SyFy films take themselves too seriously as well. It was just refreshing to see a film that stepped out of the box for a second and did things differently. So I give director Griff Furst and everyone else involved with Swamp Shark major points. Will Swamp Shark go down in history as far as creature features go? No. But was it better than the average creature feature? I think so. It’s the first SyFy film I’d actually recommend to my readers.
