It's officially summertime! And what better way to celebrate than heading out into the water for some relaxation and fun? Well, that is unless you're the people in these films because to celebrate the summer of '17, we at this humble blog would like to bring you some of our favorite summer themed horror flicks. While I can go on for decades about how much I love our little shark seen above, I feel that both I and many other sites you've likely visited have exhausted themselves in telling you their love of 'JAWS' so today we will be going with some other oceanic terror flicks. So sit back and enjoy the Summer of Fear 2017 (Swimming Edition)!
First up today is a little known gem from 2010 called 'The Reef'. The plot is about as simple as you can get with one of these movies with a group of stranded folks being picked off as shark din dins but its how the film goes the classic 'Jaws' route in having less be more and the film is better for it. The low budget feel gives director Andrew Traucki more motivation to be clever and thoughtful with his work giving us one of the few genuinely tense shark films in a long time. This one doesn't hold back and is never presented any less than serious so if you've been missing a less tongue in cheek style in your killer shark movies, give 'The Reef' a watch.
Next up is 'The Shallows' from just last year and this one was a big surprise. Seeing the marketing and trailer as many times as I did, I predicted nothing but bad from this one. The commercials made it look so unoriginal and dull and the PG-13 sticker attached didn't help matters either in swaying me at the time. However, coming out of the theater I was satisfied more than I thought I would be. Blake Lively did a really convincing job in her role here and the film gives legit reasoning behind her situation and why the pesky shark just won't leave her alone. It's these little details, along with some great character moments and some really tense action that made 'The Shallows' stand out from the other shark flicks at the time. I say give it a chance if you're on the fence about it, you may find it enjoyable like I did.
Next up, we'll get into the more fun and silly sea horror films and the best one to start with I think is 'BAIT 3D' from 2012. The movie is about a flood that traps a group of people in a grocery store with a killer shark and if that sounds both fun and stupid to you, then you'd be correct. The gimmicky 3D effects and overall silliness really ratchets up the entertainment factor for me personally. I always get a kick out of these shark movies but the main benefit of 'BAIT' is that it's a stupid shark movie but done with a high budget and a decent director. Check it out if you've exhausted your other shark flicks.
Speaking of stupid, we have here director James Cameron's directorial debut 'Piranha II: The Spawning'. A sequel to Joe Dante's 1978 cult classic, 'The Spawning' goes for broke by having mutant flying piranha that attack people at a beach resort. Yes, flying killer piranhas and yes it's just as awesome as it sounds. I do love that Cameron is at least cool with talking to folks about the film and in fact did a director's commentary on the DVD which is something very few highly prestige directors such as him would even think about doing and I give him some respect for it. He would even take various aspects of this film and bring it over to his future work, such as actor Lance Henrickson whom Cameron would go on to work with numerous times such as in 'The Terminator' and 'Aliens'. Speaking of 'Aliens', the motor used in the flying piranha effect would be used for the facehugger in that film (the more you know). 'Piranha II' is stupid, trashy exploitation but it's also hilarious and also a Roger Corman produced film so what more do you expect from the guy? This is Corman at his best and it's cool to see where our great auteur directors get their start every now and then.
And since we're on the topic of 'Piranha', we might as well get it out of the way and discuss the 2010 remake from Alexander Aja. The movie knows exactly what it wants to be and who it appeals to and doesn't hold back on a single aspect of it. Tons of gore, nudity, and overall sleaze 'Piranha 3D' is exactly what someone is expecting to get once they take a seat in their multiplex. It's this self-aware attitude that gives it it's appeal and most likely the reason the critical reception was actually positive for a horror remake (76% on Rotten Tomatoes). Just don't check out the '3DD' sequel if you enjoy your brain cells.
From the oceans and the rivers to the isolated lakes with Steve Miner's 1999 horror comedy 'Lake Placid' which has become a large cult hit since its rather lukewarm opening back in the day. The film has somehow spawned four sequels, one of which pits the crocodile in this flick against the snake from the 'Anaconda' films (and yes, it is called 'Lake Placid vs Anaconda'). While all those are well worth skipping, the original is pretty solid even today thanks to it's solid writing, humor, and use of practical special effects which were sadly dying out at the time of the film's release. The film has probably the most unmemorable cast in any major theatrical horror film with the exception of the always amazing Betty White as a cursing old lady who feeds her livestock to the killer croc residing in her lake. I'm sure most people have seen 'Lake Placid' by now, but if you by chance haven't then you're sure to have a fun time. The Scream Factory blu-ray is pretty awesome too if you're a horror collector.
'ROGUE' comes from the director of 'Wolf Creek' and was sadly lost in the shadow of the vastly inferior and completely misleading 'Primeval' which came out the same year leaving this one to become a highly underrated gem. The film sees a young woman and a group of travellers who become the prey of a giant killer crocodile and one by one they become a TV dinner. Another movie in which it's strength lies in its simplicity with only a few key locations, a small cast of characters that for the most part are well written and don't follow the usual tropes, and some great gore and creature effects to go along with it. Track down 'Rogue' if you've never heard of it (you'll likely find it dirt cheap) and have a little fun.
Be sure to come back for 'Part 2' of our swimmers edition and be sure to stick with us during your whole summer break.
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