**UPDATE: I was a little careless with my language below. Readers have correctly pointed out that “Shark Night” is rated PG-13 and that there is no “gratuitous nudity.” This is correct. What there is, though, are a lot of young, very fit people running around with hardly any clothes on even at the silliest of times (not a criticism). So gratuitous near-nudity is a better description.
In the undeniably entertaining “Shark Night,” director David R. Ellis brings to life a couple of one-dimensional, stereotyped, Southern, racist rednecks to… lecture… us… about… bigotry… Talk about a disconnect. Naturally, there’s a young black man and Hispanic woman who are racially taunted by these two inbred-looking good ole’ boys, but when the film itself engaged in this kind of racial stereotyping (and more), I began to wonder if “Shark Night” was working on the kind of high level, self-aware social satire only a dog could hear.
For instance, the black guy and the Hispanic woman are naturally a couple — can’t have them romantically mixing with Caucasians, I guess. ***SPOILERS*** Also, both are the very first victims of the shark. But it’s when the shirtless Black guy fights the shark with — ready for this? — a spear, that I began to see the real genius in this film’s penetrating racial commentary.
Or not.
Anyway, “Shark Night” is pure B-movie dumb in the finest way possible. Though no legitimate masterpiece like last year’s epic “Piranha,” you will be entertained throughout. Mixed in with the dumb is a little suspense, gratuitous nudity, gore, action and more dumb. “Shark Night” proudly is what it is and, by design or accident, more insightful when it comes to racial issues (that expose the Hollywood left) than the Academy Award-winner “Crash.”
It’s also a much better movie than “Crash.” Not that that’s a high bar.
But the real brilliance in the storytelling comes from a shark-attack story where the gaggle of lovely, barely-clothed victims-in-waiting reside on an island. Oh the contrivances you’ll witness to get them into the water, especially after they know what’s in the water.
Good stuff and a great time if…
You bring a sense of humor and an irony detector.
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SHARK NIGHT is available at Amazon.com. DVD Features:
- Shark Attack! Kill Machine! – Use this feature to jump to your favorite kills quickly
- Ellis’ Island – A cast appreciation of what Shark Night director David Ellis brought to the film
SHARK NIGHT Blu-ray Disc Features:
All of the DVD features, plus…
- Shark Night’s Survival Guide – Everything you need to know about the sharks in the movie to avoid becoming human chum!
- Fake Sharks Real Scares – This behind the scenes featurette focuses on the use of both animatronic and CGI sharks in Shark Night
- Digital Copy
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