I didn’t much like Sand Sharks. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets it wrong nearly everywhere.

Well, would you look at this, a faint vestige of production values and technical ability! We even have a star name attached (Corin Nemec, “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose”, “Stargate: SG-1”). Now, there is actually a species of shark named sand shark but this film has little use for them. Instead, we’re still stuck with the unleashing of a prehistoric predator onto an unsuspecting world; the world of “Sand Sharks”.

When an underwater earthquake cracks open a crater deep beneath the ocean’s surface, it unleashes a prehistoric armoured predator, capable of ‘swimming’ through sand and rock. On the sleepy nearby island of White Sands, local teens drink and party beside a beach bonfire and everyone is getting ready for the music festival which will save the island’s ailing tourism trade.

With the extra professionalism and technical polish, we’re into prime SyFy movie territory here. The acting is actually okay and the special effects, for the most part, are passable, with the bonus of some genuinely effective practical gore. Sure, the premise itself is as dumb as the rocks the titular creatures swim through (point of order: if they can swim through soil and rock, how were they ever trapped underground?) and the limitations of the budget become apparent when the music festival kicks off and the audience struggles to number in the tens. Seriously, there are so few people around they could probably have just starved the sand sharks to death by letting them eat the festival attendees. There’s a half-hearted attempt at a business/ shark metaphor and there are a fair few jokes and references to Roger Corman and bad shark movies in a good-natured attempt at self-aware irony so “Sand Sharks” gets points for trying at least.

The film seems to use many of the same locations as “Dracano” so either Nemec doesn’t like to travel or he signed up for a two-for-one deal with the producers. Whatever else you say, Nemec brings his A-game to the B-movie nonsense but after a while the constant puns wear thin and the dragged-out ending just will not quit. It’s harmless, goofy fun and while it’s still nowhere near a good movie, it’s at least not an abysmal one.

shark weak
sand sharks review
logo

Related posts

BBC’s A Christmas Carol Episode 2 Review

BBC's A Christmas Carol Episode 2 Review

I beg of you spirit, let me see some tenderness connected with this world. There may be more of gravy than of grave about the hauntings according to Dickens but this adaptation is more concerned with drinking the grimdark Christmas Carol Kool-Aid rather than the meat of this story...

Ambulance (2022) Review

Ambulance (2022) Review

Ambulance makes a strong case for signing a DNR for Michael Bay's directorial career If AMBULANCE were a medical treatment, it would be a full-throttle adrenaline shot straight to the heart, jolting you into a state of hyper-activity – just as likely to kill as to cure. Michael...

The Core (2003) Review

The Core (2003) Review

It's [scientific credibility] murder on the Core-ient express! If “Battleship” is a dumb remake of “Independence Day” (itself a dumb remake of “War Of The Worlds”) then “The Core” is the dumbest possible reimagining of Jules Verne's “Journey To The Centre Of The Earth”, combining...

30 Nights Of Paranormal Activity With The Devil Inside The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2012) Review

30 Nights Of Paranormal Activity With The Devil Inside The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2012) Review

30 Nights Of Paranormal Activity With The Devil Inside The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Review. As I think I’ve admitted before, I've got a real soft spot for spoof movies. I’ve got a pretty high tolerance for scattergun comedy – I even found some things to enjoy in "Disaster Movie"...

Sicario 2: Soldado (2018) Review

Sicario 2: Soldado (2018) Review

Sicario 2: Soldado offers America a tangerine's dream. It’s impossible to view “Sicario 2: Soldado” in isolation from the current real-world events along America’s southern border. Indeed, the film finds itself cruelly separated from the comfort of director Denis Villeneuve and...

Doctor Who: The Robot Revolution

Doctor Who: The Robot Revolution

Look Who's back. For now, at least... If – IF – the rumour mill is to be believed, this 15th (stop trying to make season 2 happen, Russell) series of the revived Doctor Who may be the last for quite some time* and on the strength of season opener The Robot Revolution, maybe that’s not...

Alien Shark (2022) Review

Alien Shark (2022) Review

In watching bad shark movies, no one can hear you scream The bad shark movie hall of fame is crammed to the gills with flotsam, jetsam and plain old garbage but Alien Shark stakes a strong claim to be one of the most bizarre and bewildering titles of all. It defies logic, gravity...

Shark Bait (2022) Review

Shark Bait (2022) Review

Shark Bait is close to being the Platonic ideal of a bad shark movie Shark Bait (also known as Jet Ski but changed presumably so that people would realise there’s a shark in it) sets out its stall as a Spring Break fantasy, opening after the obligatory underwater title sequence on...