By Todd Garbarini
Sharktopus and Dinoshark are the titles of two of the SyFy Channel’s most-viewed titles of late. Like Piranha 3D, which was released theatrically last year, the titles of these films are fairly self-explanatory and leave little to the imagination. There is plenty of T & A on display in Sharktopus, though for reasons unknown far more restraint is shown in Dinoshark.
Sharktopus and Dinoshark were both produced by Roger Corman, who has a cameo in the former as a beachgoer and a larger role as a scientist in the latter. In Sharktopus, the shark-octopus combo is a genetically-engineered creature that is strapped to a device to keep it under military control – until it breaks free of it, that is. Out on its own, the military needs to reel the creature back in, and that’s where genetic scientist Nathan Sands (Eric Roberts) comes in. Nicole Sands (Sara Malakul Lane) is his daughter/scientist, who is trying to break free of Nathan’s “Daddy’s Little Girl†grip, and tries her best to gain control of the titular creature.
The special effects in Sharktopus are fairly decent for a film shot on a shoestring. The effects team replicates “blood†splattering on the camera lens (in reality CGI blood), and there are a fairly high number of sharktopus kills to be had, the most memorable of which is a bungee jump gone haywire (no pun intended, of course). Mary Corman, daughter of Roger and Julie Corman (the film’s producers), appears in this scene.
The acting is nothing to write home about, although Mr. Roberts is the best of the bunch. Also on hand is Sara Malakul Lane as Nathan’s daughter, and she’s quite good in her role, but just about everyone else looks like they stepped off the pages of FHM and Maxim to get in front of the camera, especially Shandi Finnessey who did step off the pages of Stuff and was chosen as Miss USA 2004. The special features consist of a trailer and an enjoyable audio commentary with Roger and Julie Corman that discusses the genesis of the film and how the SyFy Channel approached it as a project.
Dinoshark runs nearly the same length as Sharktopus, but it feels twice as long. Like Sharktopus, the film was shot in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Trace McGraw (Eric Balfour) and Carol Brubaker (Iva Hasperger) both share a mutual friend who dies at the hands of the dinoshark, and they spend the remainder of the film trying to get people to believe them. Naturally, no one does, and the authorities do their best to bring down the dinoshark. Like Sharktopus, the special features consist of a trailer and an enjoyable audio commentary with Roger and Julie Corman.
If you have to see one of these films, Sharktopus is the way to go – that is until Sharktopus vs. Dinoshark rears its head.
Click here to order Sharktopus discounted from Amazon
Click here to order Dinoshark discounted from Amazon