Sharknado features massive tornados formed around the hurricane that are full of bloodthirsty sharks. The cover would lead movie fans to believe that's all you need to know about the film to make it worth a watch, but the finished product is horrible and only can be suggested for fans looking for a completely ridiculous film to make fun of for an hour and a half, as the flick jumps from one bizarre action sequence to another complete with horrendous acting and even worse special effects.
The film begins on the water with a shootout on a boat over a large sum of money that serves no purpose beyond showing fans the great influx of sharks that have been forced close to the shore by a large storm. The action then jumps to a beach attack where viewers are introduced to some of the poor graphics that make up the digital sharks and some poor special effects when people begin losing body parts. The film also introduces us to the main cast of characters that includes a series of washed up 90's actors including Ian Ziering as the bar owner and John Heard, who rose to fame as the dad in the original Home Alone films but is now just the local drunk that continuously flirts with women far too young for himself. I guess it really takes a lot out of a man to take care of a family dozen.
Sharknado later introduces viewers to Tara Reid's character, and needless to say, she does an equally bad job of acting in the film as the rest of the cast. The family lives away a good distance away from the beach, so viewers are treated to plenty of flooded streets and shark attacks on the ride to the home coupled with various footage taken from actual hurricane flooding in recent storms, as the action switches from the action inside the car to scenery that looks nothing like California on the outside of the car. It's not long after arrival that Tara Reid's douchebag boyfriend is eaten alive and the cast realize they need to save their son that they failed to mention in the first half of the film. Things only get stranger from here as the team decides to rescue a school bus full of children and later use bombs to explode the tornados stemming from the storm by having a beginner pilot fly a helicopter up close to the shark infested storms, because that's totally realistic!
Sharknado never fails to throw in cheesy dialogue and ideas including how proud Ian is of his son's heroics, how one character always knew he'd die in Hollywood and how the waitress at the bar just happens to have been attacked by a shark when she was younger, though the film tries unsuccessfully to hide the fact for as long as possible. Sharknado was obviously created on a small budget, and the movie never manages to muster up a single interesting action sequence that isn't ruined by some very unrealistic graphics or makeup. The film is laughably horrible, but some movie fans enjoy watching these types of films, and for movie watchers that can dig a terrible flick, Sharknado is a great choice.
Sharknado isn't completely unwatchable, but it's really, really bad. Anyone looking for a serious film should never consider Sharknado from its name and cover alone, but horrendous acting, writing and special effects makes the film a total dud. About the only thing done right in the film is a soundtrack that pops in to help viewers get in the right mood for a scene only to have it ruined the moment any character speaks up. It's very difficult to recommend Sharknado to anyone, but there are definitely people out there that have an affinity for cheesy, terrible horror and science fiction films, and Sharknado definitely fits the mold and is probably still worth a watch as long as you know going into the movie that it is indeed awful. Check out Sharknado today if you dare!
Sharknado is now available from all major retailers and has been rated appropriate for ages 14 and up. For more information on the film, check out the official Sharknado website.
Movie Features:
Release Date: July 11, 2013
Director: Anthony C. Ferrante
Running Time: 86 Minutes
Rating: TV-14
Cast: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, John Heard
Score: 2 out of 10