SHARK NIGHT 3D

US, 2011, 88 minutes, Colour.
Sarah Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Donal Logue, Chris Carmack, Joshua Leonard
Directed by David R. Ellis.

You know what you are in for just from the title – although the 3D is nothing startling (but there are a couple of frights, mainly with sharks leaping out of the water, jaws open, teeth bared, grabbing their victims).

This is a very straightforward tale, all quite serious, nothing facetious or tongue-in-cheek, which is what a lot of audiences want – to laugh and be scared at the same time. This was the kind of thing that worked in the outlandish Piranha 3D. It was also the case with David R. Ellis’s film, Snakes on a Plane, though his two Final Destination thrillers veered from serious to sometimes corny.

So, a group of college students go together to a lake resort in Louisiana. The sheriff welcomes them back, especially Sarah who has not been for three years. There is a memory of a bad experience – which will lead to vicious revenge. We meet the group, who are less obnoxious than many in such similar circumstances (and their language is relievedly non-swearing).

Sharks are in the lake and start to get busy on the students. Much of the action and tensions concerns one student whose arm has been severed, trying to get him to hospital. Then two rednecks appear, one bent on vengeance.

Then it is revealed that the two and the sheriff have introduced the sharks into the lake and, why? – to film the attacks and death for sales to sick video clip watchers! This leads to crises, some ‘and then there were none’ deaths. But, of course, two survive and the rednecks have very, very close encounters with the sharks.

Enough to give an average audience a bit of a fright – and certainly not endear them to sharks.

Surprisingly, during the final credits there is a long music clip from the cast (rather different from their characters in the film, though there are scenes shown again during the song). Dustin Milligan plays the hero who overcomes all odds and is the director of this music video.