Let’s face it. There are really only two types of movies that people want to watch. First, there’s your movies with dinosaurs;Jurassic Park,Jurassic World,Jurassic World: Rebirth,Jurassic World of Parks, and so on. The second is movies with sharks;Jaws,The Shallows,Sharknado, and a host of others. Dinosaurs and sharks. That’s it. Don’t let the box-office numbers of pretenders likeSupermandissuade you from the truth, friends. In theory, then, a film that combines them both? Pure, unadultered joy. And if it’s bat s**t crazy? Even better. But does such a film exist?Why yes, yes it does, and it’s produced by none other than the legendary “King of the B’s,“Roger Corman. And he’s even on-screen!
‘Dinoshark’ Visits Puerto Vallarta
The movie is 2010’sDinoshark, and it’s absolutely beautiful. The film begins with a large piece of ice breaking off of an Arctic glacier and slipping into the water, setting free a long-frozen pliosaur, a prehistoric sea predator (and the titular beast). Three years later, the dinoshark, larger now, kills a scuba diver, and a surfer, in the waters off of Puerto Vallarta. At the same time, Trace McGraw (Eric Balfour), a young boat captain, has returned after some time away, and meets up with friends Rita (Christina Nicole), Víctor (Guillermo Iván), and Pedro (Victor Cruz), and is introduced to Carol (Iva Hasperger), a Princeton grad with a biology major.
Don’t get too attached to Rita, though, as she gets eaten by the dinoshark when swimming, alone, in the waters by the reef. Carol is worried after being unable to contact her, but Trace isn’t too worried. He’s a little concerned about the beast he sees eating a boat, and the two rescue workers aboard, through his binoculars. No one believes him, but after Rita’s torso is discovered on the beach, it doesn’t seem so far-fetched.He sets out to track down the monster, with Carol along for the ride.
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During their search, they come across an emergency-call device in the water, which belonged to a boat that disappeared in Alaska. They connect the dots, and Carol, after doing some research, comes across the work of one Dr. Frank Reeves (Roger Corman), who has studied pliosaurs, and gives him the device to confirm that they are, indeed, dealing with a pliosaur (he does, they are).The film proceeds to the inevitable showdown between our heroes and the dinoshark, which has eaten a rich man, the woman he was trying to seduce, a couple rowing a canoe, some police officers, a helicopter, a parasailor, a jet-skier, a crocodile, water polo players, and some tourists. Trace commandeers the jet-ski and heads towards the dinoshark, which leaps out of the water to eat… err, meet him. Trace throws a grenade at it, which wounds it, but it’s Carol who takes the killshot with a harpoon to its eye.The film ends with another piece of ice falling from a glacier, which releases many dinoshark babies.
‘Dinoshark’ Is Better Than It Has a Right To Be
Dinosharkis much, much better than it has a right to be, and certainly a step above its schlock kin. It begins with the design of the creature itself. It’s a pliosaur, yes, but if you’ve ever seen what a pliosaur looks like, it doesn’t look like one at all. A pliosaur doesn’t have a dorsal fin or look like it’s been outfitted by Sauron for an assault on Helm’s Deep. It looks like what you’d expect a dinoshark to look like: a shark with the head of a T-Rex. It’s brilliant, really, and doesn’t fall into the overused hybrid creature cliché that litters the B-movie landscape (Sharktopus,for example). It adds just the tiniest little bit of believability as a result. Really, really tiny.
There’s little doubt that Corman’s presence helps. The man knows what works and how to wring schlock to its full potential. There are back-to-back-to-back shark attacks, the effects are impressive for its budget, and it doesn’t aspire to be anything more than it is, a bat s**t crazy creature feature. Corman, as a scientist, is actually even the best actor of the bunch, grounding the film and commanding respect in the few moments he has on-screen. But in fairness, the rest of the cast knows what they’re in, and own their respective trope roles. It all adds up to this:Dinosharkis whatJurassic Worldcould be without the self-seriousness. Or the budget.
