Trailer Park Shark (2017)
"They're gonna need a bigger trailer"
Plot
The residents of a struggling trailer park find themselves caught up in a plot by a scheming land developer to wash away their homes away and secure the land by blowing up a levy. But the floodwater brings more than just muddy water to the trailer park - a deadly shark swims upriver to feast.
Ever since the days of the first Sharknado and Mega Shark Vs Giant Octopus, the sharksploitation flick has been sinking to lower and lower depths, though I think they’ve bottomed out now. Zombie sharks. Frankenstein sharks. Flying sharks. Robot sharks. Ghost sharks. Nuclear-powered sharks. Toxic sludge-spewing sharks. I could keep going. That’s not to say Trailer Park Shark is the worst, but it’s simply prevented from touching the bottom by default, purely due to the awfulness of some of those films referred to.
The first time you’ll cringe at Trailer Park Shark is the awful brown colour palette that they’ve chosen to shoot the film in. I’m not joking when I say this is probably the worst-looking film I’ve ever watched – this colour decision is shocking. It just makes everything look drab and depressing, even more so given the low budget. It’s not like the film needed any disadvantage before it even has chance to get going but the cinematography looks truly awful. Moving along quickly from it’s opening set-up, Trailer Park Shark doesn’t take long to get going, flooding everything and unleashing the shark. From there, it’s almost like a Tremors-esque formula as the surviving characters are forced to remain on the tops of their trailers or other floating objects to avoid getting close to the water and potential shark-fodder.
Director Griff Furst’s ‘awesome’ resume of carnage consists of Swamp Shark, Ghost Shark and Nightmare Shark (sensing a theme here) and he brings his unique ‘skills’ to the fore again here. Also known as Shark Shock, the novelty gimmick to this one is that the shark is given some sort of Electro-like powers to channel electricity. I can see your eyes rolling as you read this. Like most of the gonzo shark films, where the predators have some unique superhero-like abilities other than their natural speed and strength, there’s no need for the shark to be able to shoot electricity at people, other than for it to be a sales gimmick. The water seems to change depth whenever the script needs it to hide the shark because we all know that sharks this big can’t possibly hide in a few feet of water (they can attack in less than three feet of water) as there would no suspense for the “where is it?” moments. Not only that but the shark’s powers seem to vary depending on the scene. Sometimes it’s quite happy electrocuting it’s victims from afar; other times it just goes retro with a swift bite. At no point does the shark ever appear to be inhabiting the same plane of existence as the real footage and the CGI is truly woeful.
The majority of the actors overplay their roles, trying to imbue their redneck characters with as much ‘yee-haw’ as they muster in between chewing tobacco. The script forces down as many stereotypical redneck clichés as possible, because it’s easier to do this than develop actual characters. Tara Reid has a cameo, with a nod to her Sharknado role, and with looking as skinny and ragged as she does, could almost be taken for an actual trailer park resident. Dennis Haskins, of Mr Belding from Saved By The Bell fame, turns up in the token sleazy villain role (because a killer shark isn’t enough threat on its own anymore) and looks to have forwarded on his pay cheque into the catering department.
Final Verdict
It seems the more of these films Sy Fy make, the lazier they become. Trailer Park Shark and its brethren have gone from cinematic junk food to recycled pig slop. There’s literally no reason for anyone with a sane mind to even want to watch this rubbish. However, if you ever wanted to know who win in a fight between a cowboy riding a horse and a killer shark, then this if your film.
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Trailer Park Shark Also Known As: Shark Shock Director(s): Griff Furst Writer(s): Griff Furst, Nathan Furst, Marcy Holland Actor(s): Lulu Jovovich, Clint James, David Kallaway, Sophie Howell, Elise Berggreen, Ritchie Montgomery Duration: 85 mins |  |
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