GREAT WHITE: A Shark Suspense With No Bite

A recipe that has been played with time and time again: a group of people finds themselves trapped in the middle of the ocean as a big, hungry shark swims the open waters waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack. From Spielberg’s classic Jaws to more recent examples such as Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Shallows, sharks have been proven to be the perfect vessel for sustained tension, their prominent fins rapidly moving to the sound of anxious beats a classic stamp when it comes to suspense filmmaking. 

Far from reinventing the wheel

Great White aims to be yet another successful addition to the trope, however, it does very little to spice up the formula. Marine biologist turned plane-pilot-for-hire Charlie (Aaron Jakubenko) stumbles into a lucky odd job when young investment banker Joji (Tim Kano) and his wife, Michelle (Kimie Tsukakoshi), book a plane to visit a recluse island. Joining the trio is Charlie’s fiancée, Kaz (Katrina Bowden), and his right-hand man, Benny (Te Kohe Tuhaka). What starts as a lovely day in paradise turns into a nightmare once the group finds a mutilated body by the shore. Looking for answers – and survivors – the group embarks on a makeshift rescue mission just to end up stranded and a step closer to death themselves. 

The film begins with a young, beautiful couple swimming in clear waters, their shared joy quickly turned panic once the woman hears something approaching. Fear-stricken, the duo manically swims back to their nearby boat. They are, of course, far from fast enough. Sadly, the rush of these first casualties is the closest Great White comes to being marginally successful as a thriller. What follows is unimaginative at its best, lazy at its worst; from the slapstick-ish accidents to the cliché flashbacks to a previous shark attack that haunts one of the group members.

Neither here nor there

There is nothing wrong with the good old guilty pleasure, but Great White barely manages to provide the mindless distraction. A compilation of clumsily put-together shallowness, the film fails to deliver even the delightful gauche gruesomeness of a low-budget horror film. It lacks the refinement of the aforementioned The Shallows at the same time that it fails to commit to the batshit crazy of the likes of cult darling Sharknado. Not only do we not care enough about the characters to mind them being eaten alive, at a certain point, we even begin rooting for the shark, the only tension in the air is the anticipation for the ending credits. 

And talking about the shark, if there is one reason to stay, it’s the fairly impressive CGI creature, which provides the very few drops of adrenaline we get throughout the movie. Enhanced by the great – and very welcome – Tony O’Loughlan cinematography, the animal makes for quite a few striking scenes. Other than that, however, this one doesn’t have much of a bite, swiftly falling into oblivion the moment the screen fades to black. When it comes to shark-themed suspense films, it’s safe to say Great White won’t be joining the greats. 

What are some of your favorite horror films about sharks? Tell us in the comments!

 Great White is currently available to watch on VOD. 

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