Sharks in horror can be thrilling, adventurous, and scary. We’ve seen these majestic, ferocious creatures on display in films that the horror community have declared timeless (Jaws, 1975) to campy (Sharknado, 2013). With there being such a mixed bag when it comes to the subgenre, you never know what you will get. As we head into summer, a shark horror movie such as Thrash on the Netflix main page starring Dijimon Honsou, should be something to be excited about. However, director and writer Tommy Wirkola (Violent Night, Dead Snow) has me believing he knew going in that this was going to be a bad time for all involved, and we all are just along for the wild ride that it is.
Stormy with a chance of sharks
Thrash is set in the seaside town of Annieville, SC. We follow the unraveling of a category 5 hurricane as it makes landfall through various perspectives. Dakota (Whitney Peak) just realized there’s a hurricane coming her way because, who watches the news these days? Her uncle, Dr. Dale Edwards, a marine biologist, knows what’s coming and it’s a monster. Yet, he takes his time getting to her. Netflix’s Bridgerton darling Phoebe Dynevor portrays Lisa, a newly single pregnant woman who also had no idea that the hurricane coming would be that bad. Wirkola throws in a side story of three siblings who have terrible foster parents. They soon find themselves facing off against sharks and a foster dad from hell.
When Hurricane Henry hits Annieville, it’s carrying a school of bull sharks on its waves. We only get a few glimpses of these sharks as they wreak havoc on this small town and its residents. When Lisa is driving to higher ground, she gets trapped by a downed tree and rushing water that has broken the levies. Dakota watches from her upstairs window as both her and Lisa find out that there isn’t just rising water to be afraid of with this hurricane. The stakes get higher as Lisa starts having contractions and Dr. Dale realizes that a great white shark is headed into town.
Wirkola’s script starts to unravel here for me. Now that the premise has been established, there doesn’t feel like much else to hold the scenes together. After about twenty minutes in, nothing makes sense so you have to just roll with it. The dialogue is thin, even for a Netflix movie. And watching Dijimon’s monologue about a hippo attack in Africa is as painful as you’d think.
Final verdict
What people who love shark movies enjoy are those suspenseful moments that get your blood pumping. This is something Wirkola doesn’t quite land. The third act treads into campy territory. He never really commits, though, which would have made this a very different movie. Aside from the weak CGI and the barely there plot, Thrash does us all a favor and comes in at under 90 minutes. This shark movie lacks thrill, suspense, and the momentum needed to make this worth the watch. Instead, we’re left with a lazy, boring movie that fails to make any sense.
