Bait 3D

UK Release Date: TBC

Cert: 15

Dir: Kimble Rendall, Written By: John Kim & Russell Mulcahy, Additional Writing By: Shayne Armstrong, Duncan Kennedy, Shane Krause & Justin Monjo

Cast: Xavier Samuel, Julian McMahon, Sharni Vinson, Phoebe Tonkin, Martin Sacks & Lincoln Lewis

Plot Summary

After a freak tsunami, a group of survivors trapped in a coastal supermarket must contend with more than the rising water and clashing personalities. A 12 foot great white shark has been washed in with them.

Review

Since Piranha 3D became a surprise hit in 2010, offering a cheesy slice of gory fun. There have been several fishy 3D man eating imitators, from Piranha’s own sequel - the imaginatively titled Piranha 3DD to the less than impressive Shark Night 3D. Now we have Bait 3D (also known as Shark 3D) which brings the terror to the fruit and veg department.

The concept for Bait 3D is an interesting one, similar in some respects to the 2009 SyFy channel movie Malibu Shark Attack in that sharks are washed ashore in to an unfamiliar environment during a tsunami. In doing so, Bait 3D takes a cue from Renny Harlin’s 1999 smart sharks, stupid humans movie Deep Blue Sea by bringing an object of deep, primal fear in to an area where we have previously felt safe– indoors.

This central conceit is both the film’s key source of drama and the main problem with the internal logic of the film. By setting the story in such a relatively small location, there is a very real sense of claustrophobia generated and the tension felt when anyone is in the water is strongly felt due to the naturally close proximity of the shark. Unfortunately, for anyone with even a passing knowledge of sharks, the behaviour of the animal in this film is pretty much at odds with everything we know about the ocean’s apex predator.

The notion of a shark as a mindless monster that just ‘swims and eats and makes little sharks’ is one that has been dispelled long ago, however the shark in this film does little else but swim and eat. In fact one wonders just how a shark of that size could so many people in the space of a few hours, even a twenty-footer would struggle to fit a handful of people and numerous dead bodies in its stomach.

For once in a film of this type, the human characters behave in a relatively sensible manner. In fact, one of the film’s high points is the ingenious use of shopping baskets to fashion an anti-shark suit.

Wherever possible the characters stay out of the water and away from the shark, focusing on how they are going to get out of this situation. This yet again leads to the shark doing things that are pretty close to impossible, such as leaping eight feet out of the water to attack yet another victim with absolutely no room to generate the speed required.

The cast is made up of relative unknowns, Julian McMahon (The Fantastic Four and Nip Tuck) and Xavier Samuel (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and The Loved Ones) being the most recognisable faces with McMahon getting the best of a wafer thin script. As the usual horror movie fodder the remaining actors have little more to do than swim and scream.

Having seen the trailer I originally had high hopes for Bait 3D, however it has turned out to be little more than a typical man-eating monster movie with little to appeal to the viewer beyond a few (albeit effective) scares.

The 3D is passable if unimaginative. However what really lets the movie down is some poor CGI. At times the shark looks very good (although I suspect this is more to do with model work than computer graphics) but mostly it fails to convince. Whilst not a budget movie by any stretch, the film lacks the gloss that a Hollywood production would bring and as such (despite the 3D) feels more of a movie to watch at home after a few beers.  This could explain the delayed US release and as yet no confirmation of the UK release.

Lacking the beauty and realism of Dark Tide (2012) or the fun of Deep Blue Sea and suspenseful scares of Jaws this is a shark film that just ultimately lacks bite. Gore hounds may enjoy seeing body parts flying and blood spraying in 3D, however there is very little else on offer. True shark fans would be better served by revisiting the classics of the genre.

Clean up on aisle 12, Bait 3D has made a mess.

My Rating 5.2 out of 10                                                                                                                                                                           Kevin Williams

Warning. Trailer contains content that may not be suitable for children.

Bait 3D - Did we get it right?