“Thrash” follows stranded residents who must survive rapidly rising waters swarming with ravenous sharks after a hurricane slams their coastal town.
Sharks may be the film’s calling card, but they’re not the central focus — early on, at least. Over the first 20 minutes of the 86-minute runtime, “Thrash” emphasizes the environment and characters. Howling wind, roaring thunder, heavy rain and crashing waves instantly establish the severity of the situation. The movie also introduces different sets of people individually before quickly converging their storylines together.
Despite the atmospheric success, this opening proves to be tedious. The characters are stereotypical: grieving daughter, foster children, pregnant lady… and more. Because of this, not much investment comes from their setups. Thankfully, it proves to be fairly short-lived.
After the first act, the film’s focus clearly shifts. As water starts pouring in, so do the sharks. With this also comes more blood and fast-paced action.
When “Thrash” works, it’s largely because of the impressive VFX on display. The film features an abundance of massive set pieces: vehicles being carried by waves, water crashing through windows and more. Oh, and don’t forget… the sharks. Time and time again, the CGI manages to remain immersive rather than distracting.
This still is a creature feature, after all, and the sharks themselves look solid. The effects are at their best when the creatures aren’t fully on display. The animals are oftentimes captured above surface level, with their fins and tails doing a lot of the heavy lifting. When “Thrash” shows the sharks upfront, some cheesiness begins to set in.
Though, it does mask some of these flaws with Matthew Weston’s cinematography. Different sources of lighting help to both illuminate and darken some of the sharks’ distinct features. The mixture of wide-angle and close-up shots also helps to amplify some of the overall damage caused.
The effects aren’t perfect, but they prove to be far more effective than similar genre entries.
Writer-director Tommy Wirkola knows his audience. Viewers coming to watch “Thrash” are looking for an easily digestible popcorn flick. This is exactly that. The characters are underdeveloped and unmemorable. The story is hollow. Nonetheless, it’s a lot of fun.
While other creature features attempt to culminate in something more meaningful, “Thrash” doesn’t. It’s all the better for this. Sure, there are brief subplots. Ultimately, however, the sharks remain center stage throughout the last two-thirds of the film. General audiences will undoubtedly enjoy this approach, as they can watch the “sharky” entertainment without having to think too much.
For fans of movies like “Crawl,” “Grizzly Night” or “47 Meters Down,” this will likely be right up your alley.
“Thrash” also isn’t afraid to embrace its silly side… and other genre entries should take notes. While the thought of blood-hungry sharks is scary, it’s not realistic. Adding comedy to the mix helps alleviate some of the logic leaps along the way.
“I bet you never saw this on Shark Week.”
The cast is having a lot of fun with it as well. Phoebe Dynevor (Lisa), Whitney Peak (Dakota), Stacy Clausen (Ron), Alyla Browne (Dee) and Dante Ubaldi (Will) bring charm to their respective characters. Dynevor and Peak carry out more of the emotional subplots, showing true desperation and fear during their attempted escape. Clausen, Browne and Ubaldi are cut loose, being the source of many laughs.
Djimon Hounsou (Dr. Dale Edwards) appears. Hounsou is practically relegated to almost “cameo” level here, but he still steals scenes when present.
With that being said, the script is undoubtedly weak. While the core group of characters are likeable, there’s no real weight to any of their storylines. Viewers may find themselves rooting for specific individuals (mainly because they have to), but there’s no compelling narrative to buy into. Just sharks.
“Thrash” almost feels like an episode of a TV show. There’s a distinct beginning, middle and end. However, it doesn’t actually form into anything distinguishable. As the credits begin to roll, “OK” is really all that radiates.
With the balancing of horror, comedy and drama, “Thrash” also faces tonal issues. One second, sharks are biting off a hand. The next, a butt cheek. That’s not all, as characters pause for “f–k you’s” to their parents. But at the same time, there’s also a harrowing, tense journey within. These objectives typically clash, resulting in a fractured picture in the process.
In the world of shark movies, the bar is low. This allows “Thrash” to be entertaining enough. It’s short and bloody — the perfect combo for an acceptable creature feature.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
