Sharknado - QC Review

Directed by:  Anthony C. Ferrante
Starring:  Ian Ziering, Tara Reid and John Heard
Rated: TV14
Runtime: 1 hour 26 minutes  
Release Date: July 11, 2013

By this time most everyone is aware of what Sharknado is, even if they have no intention of ever seeing it. While this isn't the first shark movie to grace the Syfy channel (watch out for other classics such as Sand Sharks, Dinoshark and the upcoming Ghost Shark!), it for some reason has become their most popular one. Sadly, popularity doesn't translate into quality and Sharknado is just another poorly made Syfy movie of the week, albeit with plenty of cheeseball antics and horrible filmmaking to keep things at the very least entertaining for the select few who derive joy from such cinematic catastrophes.

For no discernible reason, a tornado forms out in the middle of the sea and begins picking up a cluster of sharks and swirling them about. Soon that same storm hits the Los Angeles coast and it starts raining sharks all over town causing mass panic. Coming up with great B movie style high concepts has never been the problem for Syfy and their movie partner in crime, The Asylum. The problem has been and always shall be that they just don't care enough to take the time to make their films actually decent. Just on a pure filmmaking perspective (budget aside), they just seem to put people behind the camera whose resume most likely lists filming family roadtrips as a previous employer. This is filmmaking at its most broken.

The problems with these films, and Sharknado in particular, is that everyone behind the camera just doesn't give a s**t. They never care to match up shots where when a person indoors sees a raging storm outside, that the following exterior shot actually shows the storm as well (instead we see a bright sunny day). Sure these films are super low budget, but filmmakers have always struggled to make films with no budget, even in Hollywood. If the talent is there, they should at least be able to frame their shots in a semi-competent way and edit them so as to not have back to back shots contradict one another.

But if you are reading this or have ever seen a Syfy channel movie, then this is pretty much par for the course. At this point we go in expecting horrible acting, rancid editing, putrid effects work and laughable writing. At least Sharknado is able to provide enough goofy fun with its silly premise of shark infested tornados to make it enjoyable at the lowest possible denominator. When the sharks hit the town and start chomping on people, it may look like crap, but it is quite possibly some of the most imaginative crap you have ever laid eyes on.

There are some real concerns though that must be mentioned. First of all, if you come into this looking for Sharknados, you're going to have to wait a bit because they don't show up until more than halfway through the movie. Also, in a film filled with horrible acting, Tara Reid still finds a way to be the worst of the bunch. But if are looking to sit back with some snacks and a couple of sodas with some friends and just want to have a laugh, none of this matters. Sharknado was made specifically for the "Mystery Science Theater" treatment that only you and a group of friends can make happen. So with that in mind, Sharknado gets a pass simply for being so darn stupid and providing a memorable experience for all the wrong reasons.

FINAL VERDICT:

CHECK IT OUT

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Posted in: QC review