Movie Review: SWAMP SHARK Starring Kristy Swanson

This is a first here on the blog a TV movie review, since there are so many of them made these days you can’t help but watch them.  SyFy seems to be the channel where most of them turn up as they are made specifically for that channel.  I have noticed Swamp Shark quite a few times now and although it’s clearly about a shark that lives in a swamp it’s surely worth a go, right?

Starring: Kristy Swanson, D.B. Sweeney and Robert Davi

The Plot

You got it already haven’t you?  Yeah I thought you might but just in case let’s roll through a quick summary.  There is a swamp in the Atchafalaya Basin in America, it’s a real swamp located in central Louisiana.  It’s coming up to Gator Fest a local fair day celebration in the usually quaint small town.  The fest means one thing, lots of drunken teenagers on boats wearing very little clothing, ideal shark bait really, especially in a horror, err no comedy movie.  There is of course a shark in the swamp which is a result of an illegal animal smuggling deal going wrong allowing the shark to escape into one of the swamps back rivers.

The Verdict

Is the acting terrible? Yeah.  Is the story great? No.  Do lot’s of people get eaten? Yeah.  Is it a horror movie? No.  Is it a comedy movie? Could be.  Is it enjoyable?  Absolutely.  Does that surprise you? probably not.  Seriously this movie is not really that bad, I mean I’m not saying it’s going to win awards or anything, maybe it has who knows?  The title of the movie gives away the plot really but does it matter when you enjoy it.  This really is a movie that you can watch whilst doing a bit channel hopping, you land on SyFy (as it’s now named) and think this looks ok.

The enjoyment doesn’t really come from the acting or the characters, who’s names I don’t even remember to be honest.  The thing that draws you to the movie first off is the location, it looks like a place you would want to go visit, knowing full well that there is no chance of a shark being in the swamp that can leap 10 feet out the water and take you off the jeti.

I say the movie is a comedy, of course officially it’s a horror movie but not one that is going to scare the wits out of you, In Jaws you knew the shark was coming and it still manages to get you tense.  In Swamp Shark you know the shark is coming but you don’t really care as you know what ever happens is actually going to be pretty funny.  I'm going to presume that there are actually alligators in this swamp, so why are the kids at the Gator Fest in the water swimming, if the shark wasn't there to be worrying about then your concern would surely shift to the possibility of being death rolled by an alligator.

The shark itself looks extremely fake, very CGI and due to the fact it’s a shark it wouldn’t be able to survive in a fresh water swamp.  The characters are not interesting at all but this movie is definitely better than some of the TV movies that I’ve seen on SyFy (must review those ones).  If it’s something deep and interesting you are wanting then Swamp Shark simply won’t cut it but if you are looking to waste some of your spare time, then this may be just what you are looking for.

Would I watch it again?

Probably, it seems to be on the SyFy channel three or four times a week so if I have a couple of hours to waste late at night it may get selected again.

Rating: M