Because I understood from the onset that this film was meant to
be humorous I enjoyed it more than if had I not known. Sharktopus, produced by Roger Corman, is a nod to the genre of
exploitation films. Still, funny as it was, it wasn't without its flaws.
Sharktopus had
everything: girls in skimpy swimsuits, a blood-thirsty monster, a villain, a
hero and a romantic subplot. It all goes wrong when a genetic mutant,
Sharktopus, becomes uncontrollable. Originally meant to hunt terrorists, the
creature can't help but destroy everything in sight.
At first, the film was hilarious. People were getting eaten while
bungee jumping, while laying out, and even while searching for buried treasure.
It got awkward though when you couldn't differentiate between what was
purposely funny and what wasn't.
The script was awful. Not knowing whether it was deliberate
doesn't necessarily matter because after 90 minutes, it got annoying. The
characters didn't shine and there was one in particular that I did not like. Honestly,
I don't know if they knew or understood if the film they were making was a real
science fiction piece or pure comedy.
Several times the cast winked at you by saying things like, "That
only happens in the movies." Again, this reminded me that maybe the whole film
was a spoof off of old exploitation films. Roger Corman is the master of
exploitation pieces, so the fact that he produced this film makes it seem like
it was all a joke. Of course, if it wasn't, then this film is just really
terrible.
For those who didn't attend Fantastic Fest, and hear the director
talking about the film, it would be hard to determine just exactly what Sharktopus is doing. The film has
already played on the SyFy channel, and I don't believe it's something you'd
watch again and again. It was just too stupid in too many places, intentional
or not.
There were plenty of great moments in Sharktopus, so if you catch it on television, I'd recommend watching
it. But it goes wrong all over the place - the script, the choice of
characters, and overall inability to express its tone. Simply put, Sharktopus just doesn't go for the
kill.
