Raging Sharks (2005 Video)
5/10
"Alien" meets "The Abyss" meets "Jaws" on steroids without any aesthetic finesse
28 September 2017
RELEASED TO VIDEO IN 2005 and directed by Danny Lerner, "Raging Sharks" concerns an extraterrestrial object that crash-lands in the Bermuda Triangle, which releases an alien substance that causes sharks to go crazy and attack an oceanic observatory station, beach goers and anyone else nearby. Corin Nemec plays the leader of the station and Vanessa Angel his wife, who runs the station in his absence. Corbin Bernsen appears as a wise sub commander and Todd Jensen a dubious government agent.

This ain't your typical "Jaws"-copy shark flick; the plot's way more ambitious. In fact, there's well over two hours of material here crammed into an hour and a half. The production quality is akin to the usual Syfy fare but with a lot of cussing, which shows that it was released to video rather than TV.

The creators must've been targeting 12-14 year-old boys because there's zero character development or suspense build-up. Something "exciting" happens every couple minutes, whether a shark attack, an explosion, a compartment flooded, someone getting knifed, shot, drowned, etc. Despite the continuous "thrilling" events to appease those with ADHD the first hour is relatively boring with zero artistic tact. Imagine if Conan the Barbarian knew how to play guitar and crudely tried to play the moving classic "Stairway to Heaven." That's a good description of this movie as it freely borrows from several sci-fi and shark films to barbarically fashion its own adolescent action flick.

Thankfully, the last act finally delivers some genuine excitement and suspense, which is the main reason my grade is as high as it is. Plus Elise Muller as "Vera" is showcased effectively in a couple of scenes, but they could've done a lot better considering the female resources at their disposal. So, this is a bad movie, but the final act is impressively kinetic and entertaining, as far as action-oriented sci-fi goes. Too bad it's such a challenge to make it that far.

THE MOVIE RUNS 93 minutes and was shot in Sofia, Bulgaria. WRITER: Les Weldon.

GRADE: C
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