Sharktopus VS. Pteracuda (2014)
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| Picture by http://www.findelahistoria.com |
Director: Kevin O'Neill
Writer: Matt Yamashita
Cast: Robert Carradine (Dr. Rico Symes), Mario Ceara (Cameraman), Akari Endo (Veronica Vegas), Tony Evagelista (Rick Hoffman), Mario Arturo Hernandez (Chip), Rib Hillis (Hamilton), Alan Nadal Piantini (Vasquez), Conan O'Brien as himself, and Katie Savoy (Lorena Christmas)
Opening sequence: originally i could've reviewed a new film, but like i said before, and i will say it again. I review what i want reviewed, good, bad, the ugly, because sometimes you'll find some really good movies at the bottom. With that being said, this movie i found, and i recorded, only to find that it has two other movies as well. Sharktopus vs Pteracuda, Sharktopus vs Whalewolf, and the start of it all, Sharktopus. All of these films are low budget, and like any good movie review site they're a must have. So i'm only doing this one out of the trilogy. To many Shark movies in a row can get you sea sick.
Review: An egg sack was found at sea by the marine biologist Lorena Christmas (Katie Savoy), the sack is from the original Sharktopus that was destroyed by Andy Flynn, it's various pieces scattered throughout the ocean, hence the findings from the biologist. Lorena is the sole ward of the creature's offspring, she began to raise it at her uncle's aquarium. Her uncle only wants money, and he wants her to bring in the Sharktopus, a large audience can bring in some serious income. he frustration with her Uncle enrages her, because this creature needs to be treated with care, it doesn't need large audiences, at least not like the Dolphins.
Meanwhile elsewhere, Dr. Rico Symes (Robert Carradine) has created a beast himself, a Pterodactyl's DNA mixed with a Barracuda. The creature could fly and swim at great lengths. Today they're testing the creature, making sure it is ready for the military. The creature is controlled with a chip that was implanted, everything to control it is in the brief case, the Doctor thought having the tech inside a midsize case could make things easier for the user. Things go from good to bad at testing, an engineer hijacked the technology, that enables him to control the creature; Leaving the compound in shambles, he made the creature attack the compound, a hidden location, destroying it and killing everyone, except the Doctor and the head of his security. Symes and Hamilton (Rib Hillis) track the creature which is currently eating people. Time is running out for the Doctor, the security guard, and the marine biologist. The creature Pteracuda will kill everything on site, if not stopped. Taking back the brief case that has the technology to control the creature is the key; Or find Sharktopus, controlling it will hunt Pteracuda and hopefully both creatures will kill each other in battle.
The mass carnage that ensues afterwards is typical for any "B" movie, it's like they tried to use gore, in place of the story, but isn't that like all movies that are in the same type of category. The film tries to have something, Jurassic Park meets Godzilla, yes it really tries to take off like a pure monster movie. The main problem is the cheese behind the gore scenes; At one point they had Conan O'Brien getting mauled by the Sharktopus, even after the lifeguard went around warning people about the dangerous situation. I guess realism dies when you attempt these types of films. Only in monster movies do you see a huge creature smashing objects and killing people in the process, but this particular film did those things in a very limited way; Because of the budget. I noticed the beach scenes were random shots of people at the beach, nobody from those shots were even in the close ups, afterwards. Normally when you have a wide shot of a location, the camera then does a close up, well in this film the close ups were empty. One shot they had over a dozen people on the beach, afterwards the close up shots had only two or three on the beach. Huge mistake, at least have a couple walking, holding hands or something like that. Why have a wide shot and end up with nothing, empty afterwards.
The limited budget probably killed the film, but that could've been solved by using some imagination. A good example of this would be Sharknado, not saying that it was a prime film but here it goes. The wide shots had people running, when the sharks attacked, they did, but sometimes the shots were close up and personal. A group of people running away, screams, then the other shot would be the dead bodies sprawled out, everywhere. Here is another example. Godzilla, from back in the day. When he destroyed things, the destruction was always wide; Whatever the budget allowed, they had in that shot, but it still looked like mass destruction, debris, chaos ensued over Tokyo. Or when the Navy went in to attack Godzilla, it was a wide shot, whatever they could fit in that shot, at least they had a decent shot. My point here is the Sharktopus vs Pteracuda film was very limited in budget, so why not use what you had, instead of having most of your budget put into the really bad special effects, have the story take charge, limit the effects and go with the story, and acting.
10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) had a limited budget. John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher, and Douglas M Griffin. Bradley Cooper voiced Ben, and Frank Mottek was the Radio Broadcaster. The film had a 15 million budget, but with that being said, to give it huge credit it used what it had, budget wise. Most of the film was shot in one location, very cramped feeling, especially if you're afraid of areas that are in close quarters, i personally thought it was written to perfection. John Goodman's performance was top notch, and the lack of cast could've feel short, but didn't, instead the director focused on connection, which worked, and the film despite it's limitations, the actors connected on a level that made this film a superb horror flick.
Another great low budget film is the original Blair Witch Project (1999); The film cost 22,000 to make and made back 240.5 million. The film used marking to it's disposal, it had a ingenious way of making you think the actual situations was real. In fact Maryland became a very popular place when the film came out, it was something new, fresh, and people loved it. Heather Donahue's mother received sympathy cards, folks thought her daughter was either missing or dead. That is awesome, because the creators Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez knew what they had to work with, and went with it. 8 days of shooting, 22,000 in cost and this film broke records.
The excuse of not having a budget is sad, because other films used what they had, and went with it, period. Imagination, creative thought process could make you rise above. Sharktopus vs Pteracuda decided to use the cheese factor, and fell short on so many levels. Acting, script, special effects, and the sad thing is this is part of a trilogy. A waste of time and money, but with that being said, maybe there is a crowd of people who love these types of films; So did i personally like this film? No it was horrible, and will not recommend it to anyone. But, "B" movies do have a following, how else do you think Sharknado 4 went into production. Either way, if you like this kinda stuff then go for it, enjoy it, laugh a bit. Movies like these shine to those who love these films. Sharktopus vs Pteracuda is just another film with so many moments that make go hmm.
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