Shark Night 3D (DVD Review)

DVD Review of monster-horror film Shark Night starring Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan & Chris Carmack


Image Courtesy of eOne Films

Dir: David Ellis (Final Destination 2, The Final Destination (2009), Snakes on a Plane)
Cast: Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Joel David Moore, Katharine McPhee, Sinqua Walls, Donal F. Logue, Joshua Leonard, Alyssa Diaz, Chris Zylka
USA, 2011

Reason to see: Shark Movie! I don't know why, but I can't stop watching shark movies. Good thing there are a lot of them to go around.

It may, or may not, be that well know but I have a bizarre love of shark films. From the classic Jaws to the craziness of Deep Blue Sea & Sharktopus, I can't get enough of the scares and screams of shark films. It's lucky that we have lots to choose from! The most recent big screen shark film to hit DVD is none other than Shark Night which fills the bloody waters of the micro-genre well giving us lots of scares, crazy water works and even some new twists and turns following the dead-eyed creatures that chomp.

The film does starts with a well seasoned monster/horror movie premise of college kids going to relax and party on a waterside location, where the locals ain't all that happy to have them around. It's not all strangers in a strange land though they visit Sara's family cabin for the fun times, even if she hasn't been there in a while. I'll leave the rest of the story for you to discover while watching, and for most horror film fans I would definitely say hands-down just watch it & enjoy it. Shark Night happily surprized me on several fronts, first and foremost with the story which is almost embarrassing to admit that it actually surprized me but I'll give that as a compliment not only to the film but also to the marketing for leaving the story of the film... in the film itself. Kudos there for sure. I also was happy that they didn't go over the top with gratuitous nudity here, which may disappoint some horror fans but as a female horror fan I find it often what can turn me off a film. It decides to turn a different cheek here as it's actually Chris Zylka (Kaboom, 'The Secret Circle') who fills out this category the most.

On top of the chomping and the general shark craziness and fun horror spins, what I really enjoyed about Shark Night was the cast. Sara Paxton in particular brought the cute girl who used to be a local to life, and I was happy to see this I saw recently in The Innkeepers where she was positively delightful and it's awesome to see that she can bring that again and again. It was also a treat to see Dustin Milligan (Repeaters) who fills the nice shoes, Chris Zylka (Kaboom) is great at being over the top charmer and Chris Carmack does a great job as the slightly weathered local Dennis.

Overall, Shark Night was a really fun horror flick that keep me guessing and keep on chomping. I'll happily watch it again and think it's a great addition to the fantastic frenzy of shark films.

DVD Extras:

• Shark Attack! Kill Machine! (5 minutes) Although it's not explained exactly what this is, I am pretty confident in saying that it's a chronological truncation of just the shark kill clips from the film. Would have been fun if they had a running kill count or crossing off character names; just a little something to add to the fun and cheer along with plus help make it clearer to know exactly you are watching.
• Ellis' Island (4 minutes) behind the scenes, interviews with director David R. Ellis on being around sharks his whole life, the shark research involved, having actors doing their own stunts, working in 3D and the challenge of working underwater, plus actors Chris Carmack, Dustin Milligan, Donal Logue, Sara Paxton, Sinqua Walls, Joel David Moore, Alyssa Diaz, Chris Zylka on working with director David R. Ellis, and the process doing their own stunts, working in the water, working in 3D, the importance and balance of character and action.
• Trailer
• Plus: Be sure to watch until the end of the credits for an awesome cast easter egg

Please Note: Although theatrically known as Shark Night 3D, I viewed this on DVD in 2D.

Shark Night is available on DVD as of January 3, 2012. Check it out over at Amazon.ca & Amazon.com

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'll watch it again
I strongly recommend it to horror fans & shark-film fans

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© Shannon Ridler, 2012


Sara Paxton and Dustin Milligan star in SHARK NIGHT 3D. Photo Credit Steve Dietl Courtesy of eOne Films.


Chris Carmack stars in SHARK NIGHT 3D. Photo Credit Steve Dietl Courtesy of eOne Films


Chris Zylka, stars in SHARK NIGHT 3D.Photo Credit Steve Dietl Courtesy of eOne Films.