Hammerhead


release year: 2005
genre: sci-fi/horror/action
viewing setting: home DVD, 2/27/06

synopsis: A bunch of people run around an island trying to evade a mad scientist, his private army, and his genetically-spliced half-man, half-shark son.

impressions: This was perfect B-movie cheese...well, maybe B-minus. The plot was good and simple, there was plenty of weird science, and gunfire and gore abounded. The biggest problem was the monster effects - and it wasn't a matter of bad work, either - just bad editing. It seems that the filmmakers used both CGI and a rubber suit, and I think they should have just picked one. It also would have been nice if the characters stopped acting like the monster could only get them in the water, since it was clear that the damn thing walked on land too. The editing was another sore point for me - they often just faded to black when a scene was over, even if someone was still in the process of being killed and eaten by the monster. In real life, hungry shark-man genetic hybrids don't just stop with one victim, they go after other nearby food. Just a word of warning.

something this movie has that no other movie has: A shark/man hybrid who gets to breed with captured women. This is the stuff of mad scientist legend.

acting: William Forsythe is the main male protagonist, who's "the head of the IT department" when he's introduced. Let me tell you something, folks: the world needs more IT department heads like this. The man does it all; he's a crack shot who can stand tall in a hail of gunfire and kill bad guys with calm resolve...plus he can throw knives, outswim everyone else, disarm electronic locks, fight hand-to-hand. You name it, he did it in this movie. Some people would just look at 50+ year old William Forsythe with his haggard face and large gut and think, "how can this IT guy do all these macho things?" And that's the beauty of it: the discerning viewer doesn't have to ask that, because it's William Forsythe. That's all you need to know. Also starring are Hunter Tylo, who not only looks good in a tank top but can actually act, and Jeffrey Combs, who gives a great performance as a completely insane mad scientist.

final word: Despite a few minor flaws, this is entertaining monster cheese.

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