‘Sharknado’ (2013) Review

Starring: Ian Ziering, Jaason Simmons, Tara Reid, Cassie Scerbo, Aubrey Peeples, Chuck Hittinger and John Heard

Directed by: Anthony C. Ferrante

Written by: Thunder Levin

Running time: 86 minutes

Rated: Unrated (for shark attack carnage)

Sharknado Premieres on SyFy July 11th, 2013

Well…the title says it all! Here’s another one from the prolific production company The Asylum. At least this film is not one of their specialty “mockbusters” that they’re (in) famous for. Killer shark films seem to be on the rise as of late, especially from The Asylum and SyFy Pictures; they keep coming up with one outrageous plot after the other. Previously we’ve seen 2 Headed Shark Attack, Sand Sharks, Snow Shark, Jurassic Shark, Jersey Shore Shark Attack, Shark Week, Ghost Shark, Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus and the list goes on and on. Sharknado takes absurdity (an adjective which you’ll see me use a great deal in this review) to new levels throughout this film.

Don’t get me wrong; I have a soft spot in my heart for killer shark films going all the way back to Jaws, the mother-of-all shark horror films. No matter how ridiculous a film might sound, if it has killer sharks in it, I have to watch it. As contradictory as it may sound, I have The Asylum and SyFy Channel to thank for feeding my need for utterly ridiculous shark films, and I think that Sharknado has to be the most absurd concept I’ve seen so far.

We’re introduced to Fin, played by former 90210 heartthrob Ian Ziering, who is a former world-class surfing champion who now owns a beach bar in Santa Monica, Ca. News reports of a rare hurricane approaching the Southern California coast start coming in across radio and TV channels warning every one of the impending danger. With this being the Los Angeles area, nobody listens to the warnings and go about their daily business. Unbeknownst to all, the approaching hurricane is also driving all species of sharks towards the shoreline. When the eye of the hurricane positions itself over the Los Angeles area, flooding begins, sending killer sharks swimming throughout the streets gobbling up anyone in their path. Sharks are popping up out of the sewers, from storm drains and pretty much anywhere else that can carry water, and even some places that can’t.

Fin and his bar cohorts, Baz, his Aussie best friend played by former Baywatch heartthrob, Jaason Simmons, bar wench Nova (Cassie Scerbo), and a slumming John Heard (Home Alone, Cat People, C.H.U.D.) as a perpetual bar patron, all head inland towards Beverly Hills (A zip code Ian Ziering knows all too well) to save Fin’s estranged wife (Tara Reid-Urban Legend, American Pie, Alone in the Dark) and his children.

Deadly water spouts begin manifesting themselves out in the open ocean, sucking up hundreds of sharks and moving inland over the city creating the titular Sharknados. With killer sharks literally raining down upon the citizens of Los Angeles, Fin and friends must save his family and the rest of the city from the deadly Shaknados.

Now if that synopsis isn’t enough to make you want to see this film then I don’t know what will. Let’s be honest folks, this is an Asylum film so you should already know what you’re getting yourselves into. The acting isn’t great, but surprisingly it’s not terrible. The entire cast plays it straight, although there are several winks to other shark films and lore to be found. Most of the laughs are unintentional to be sure.

The visual and CGI shark effects leave a lot to be desired, but we’ve come to expect that from these films haven’t we. In regards to the visual effects, it’s hilarious trying to pick out scenes that don’t match from one frame to the next. The city would be in the middle of a hurricane with torrential rain one minute and the very next shot a few seconds later would have the sun shining and no rain at all with clear skies. Another example of the insane visual effects continuity errors would be where a street is flooded with sharks swimming all around in a driving rain, then in the same shot only from a different angle, you can plainly see the sun shining with no rain and clearly unflooded streets with cars driving past. You could almost make a drinking game out of picking out the most ludicrous examples of continuity errors.

Now while all this criticism may sound like I hated Sharknado, I really didn’t. One thing I give The Asylum a lot of credit for is their films are usually so much fun; it’s really hard to hate them no matter how absurd the plotlines may be. What I truly enjoyed about the film is that Sharknado revels in its complete absurdity. The film is played straight and not for laughs which makes it even more of a blast to watch. Grab a group of friends, several cases of beer and gather around the TV to watch Sharknado; you’ll have the time of your life. Sharknado definitely falls into the “so bad it’s good” category for sure, recommended.