Imagine a movie like Jaws that combines the classic fear of sharks in the water with the
frightful and predetermined life-and-death (and probably death)
obstacle course of peril and mayhem from Saw with maybe a hint of Piranha and a whole lot of fun time Asylum bad movie elements
thrown
in for good measure. The end result of that mashup would be Shark Week, the latest aquatic Survival Horror film that pits a collection of
strangers against a madman and his shark-infested obstacle course. It's not very good, but it can be quite the example of fun and mindless
entertainment
given audiences approach it correctly, foregoing any concern for the characters, plot, or special effects and choosing instead to simply enjoy the
casual absurdity of it
all,
the effort to capitalize on blending Saw with the "water horror" craze that's alltherage anymore on both the SyFY channel and Asylum releases.
Boom goes the dynamite!
A man (Patrick Bergin) known as "Tiberon" (which is the misspelled Spanish word for "shark") is out for blood, to avenge a son he's lost to the
system. He and his female companion Elena (Yancy Butler) have kidnapped all those they deem responsible. They are plucked from places like Los
Angeles, Echo park, Culver City, and Venice Beach. They are taken to a small, remote island said to be 100 miles South of Key West. There, they
are
chained and placed on the deck of a backyard pool filled with baby sharks that have a habit of nibbling on human flesh. If they survive that ordeal,
they will arrive at another location somewhere on the island where Tiberon will lead them towards challenges and showdowns with bigger and
badder
sharks. His goal: kill them all but grant freedom to anyone who happens to survive. The survivors soon enough sort out their connection to one
another. Can they cooperate and survive the horrors that await, or will selfishness and distrust lead to their demise?
Shark Week opens with the longest fifteen-second countdown in the history of motion pictures. Fortunately, the rest of the movie isn't
quite as tedious and overlong, but that's certainly little more than scant praise for a movie that makes its mark by simply playing better
than some of the more recent and most dreadful Asylum titles. The Asylum has proven capable of crafting competent and even enjoyable films, and to the studio's credit many of the ideas aren't awful, and even the ones that simply and more blatantly ripoff other movies can at least yield a hint of entertainment value. Shark
Week pretty much falls smack-dab in the middle of the Asylum pack, the movie hardly the worst thing the studio has ever released but not
quite
up there with the Abraham Lincoln and Battleship knock-offs. The movie holds its own from a raw dramatic
perspective and within its limited abilities as an Action/Survival/Horror picture. Sadly, the "victim" characters all run together and Tiberon just isn't
all that menacing, failing to really capture a Jigsaw-like, Tobin Bell-inspired essence. Still, Shark Week succeeds as simple entertainment,
and the fun comes from wondering who will die next and who and how many people will survive on through to the end.
While the story proves halfway interesting and the picture moves along at a reasonable pace, it sadly suffers from many of the shortcomings found
in
the majority of lower-end Asylum features. The picture features largely miserable special effects. Shark Week, surprisingly, isn't an
effects-heavy effort, but the digital sharks, various underwater shots, and a few explosions look poor to downright goofy. The production values
suffer a bit, too; audiences will note, for instance, that during a journey through a seaside mine field, the characters walk past the same half-buried
land mine time and time again, defined by the pattern of sand on top of it. The movie lacks a plethora of gore effects, save for one bloody shot near
the end, which basically throws a lot of digital blood all over the screen. The acting is subpar and the performers often struggle not with
remembering their lines, but delivering them in a natural cadence or finding other than a stiff, robotic rhythm to their performances. Granted, they
aren't performing Oscar-caliber material, but even for a movie of this sort viewers might rightly expect a little more fluidity to the performances.
Shark Week swims onto Blu-ray with a fair, but visually underwhelming, high definition Blu-ray transfer. The HD video photography can yield
wildly impressive details but also murky, flat visuals that fail to inspire. Bright scenes look amazing, with wonderfully complex facial details and sharp,
crisp elements. Darker scenes sometimes offer pasty, bland visuals. Colors are reflective of their place in the film and surrounding lighting conditions.
There are some brilliant shades on the beachside during the day, but darker scenes are defined by shades of gray and black. Black levels are rather deep
and accurate, though flesh tones can be a touch pale. Moderate banding defines both underwater scenes and shots towards bright, washed-out skies.
This is a serviceable video presentation; the difference between dark and light is, well, night and day, but for the most part this is a consistent, pleasant
transfer that handles what the movie has to offer with efficiency save for the most challenging moments.
Lossless audio! Shark Week features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack rather than the usual 5.1 Dolby Digital track found on
most Asylum titles. This is a good, clear track that offers the basics in fine working order. Music enjoys fair spacing and notable clarity. Dialogue is clean
and accurate, efficiently flowing from the center channel and never lost under any surrounding elements. There's some good ambience at poolside,
down in a cave, and on the beach, all with a hint of surround activity and good front-end presence. Some explosions later in the movie are delivered
with potent bass and strong energy. It's not the most finely-tuned soundtrack in existence -- this is a rather low-budget movie, after all, not a Spielberg
summer blockbuster -- but The Asylum's track does it justice. Here's hoping for more lossless as the standard in the future.
Shark Week contains a grouping of brief, Asylum-standard bonus features. As an added bonus, this appears to be the first Asylum Blu-ray with
seamless menus, not DVD-era menus. Hooray!
Making Of Featurette (1080p, 5:58): Cast and crew discuss the characters, the plot, filming locales, and stories from the set.
Shark Week certainly isn't the worst movie ever released under The Asylum banner, but nor is it an upper-echelon direct-to-video title. At its
best, it's a clumsy and forgettable movie that offers filmed entertainment at its cheapest and most modern-day basic. It lacks thrills, good acting, and a
gripping script, but the core story satisfies even if it rips off movies like Jaws and any of the Saw movies, particularly those after the
first. It'll do in a pinch, but audiences looking for anything more than time-killing entertainment should keep on looking. The Asylum's Blu-ray release of
Shark Week is something of a milestone. It features lossless audio and even seamless menu technology. Welcome to Blu-ray, Asylum! The
video quality is fair, typical
Asylum HD video glossy. The supplements are few but what's required of a movie of this caliber. At around ten bucks, it might make sense to give this
one a purchase, but for anything more definitely opt for a rental instead.
