Creature
Hammerhead Sharks
Tiger Sharks
Other Sharks

Alternate Titles
N/A

Country
USA

Director
Anthony C Ferrante

Writer
Thunder Levin

Story

“When a freak monsoon floods California, beach bar owner Fin Shepherd must work together with his friends to travel inland and rescue his ex-wife and children before a deadly shark swirling tornado wipes LA off the map. Will he be able to outrun the Sharknado?”

Cast

• Ian Ziering – Fin Shepherd
• Tara Reid – April Wexler
• Cassie Scerbo – Nova Clarke
• Jaason Simmons – Baz Hogan
• Aubrey Peeples – Claudia Shepherd
• Israel Saez de Miguel – Captain Carlos Santiago
• John Heard – George

Creature Connections

• Aztec Rex – Ian Ziering
• Bering Sea Beast – Cassie Scerbo
• Locusts – John Heard
• Rise of the Dinosaurs – Israel Saez de Miguel
• Scream of the Banshee – Anthony C Ferrante
• Sharknado 2 – Anthony C Ferrante, Thunder Levin, Ian Ziering, Tara Reid
• Sharknado 3 – Anthony C Ferrante, Thunder Levin, Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Cassie Scerbo
• Venom (2011) – Israel Saez de Miguel
• Vipers (2008) – Tara Reid

Trailer

Gallery

Review

The Asylum historically focus on making cheap and crappy knock-offs but their recent run of successful creature features continues as although Sharknado is low-budget and poorly executed, it manages to be what it is better than most of its peers.

Ian Ziering leads the cast and easily gives the best performance. He makes the shift from easy-going beach bar owner to stern and responsible protector of his family believable and both he and Cassie Scerbo are able to carry some of the weaker members of the cast.

However the bane of nearly all cheap creature features is shooting outside and Sharknado suffers greatly. The inconsistent cinematography bounces from exposing to the bright sky, causing the actors to become blurry silhouettes to exposing to the actor’s faces, causing the sky to become a detail-less glowing white explosion.

The visuals also suffer from a lack of depth of field where the shot is a close up which creates a lack of focus and a direction-less feel. However with more time and control over the environment, the indoor scenes are competently directed and the action scenes hold some drama and tension.

The titular Sharknado doesn’t actually show up until the third act but when it does it is AWESOME. Fin gets some great chainsaw kills, sharks bounce off of famous landmarks and a fist-pumping rock music soundtrack accompanies the shark frenzy.

The film is full of creative ideas and carries with it a ‘devil may care’ attitude that anything could happen. Certain standout set pieces include the Ferris Wheel of Death, the abseiling bus rescue and the many creative ways that sharks are killed including via pool cue, bar stool, shotgun, gas canister, electrical pylon, exploding swimming pool and chainsaw.

Despite its technical short-comings, Sharknado manages to success through sheer force of will. It’s so unashamedly silly and doggedly creative that it makes for fun viewing solo and even more fun with friends.