Netflix’s latest shark movie 'Thrash' grabs viewers but lacks bite
After the success of Under Paris, Netflix has unleashed another high concept, high water, high stakes shark thriller in the shape of Thrash.
On the surface this number one film on the streamer is essentially Crawl - the 2019 alligator in a flood film by Alexandre Aja - via Hard Rain (1998).
Sharks encroaching into flooded human areas isn't anything new in the world of shark films, with lacklustre The Requin (2022) and fun fin action romp Bait (2012), a great white shark in a supermarket after it has been hit by a tsunami, dipping their toes in those waters previously.
But that doesn't mean that Thrash doesn't offer anything interesting, and refreshingly it isn’t trying to be JAWS (1975).
The actual set up is really well thought out and plotted, giving it that almost Twister (1996) vibe, adding in a lorry of bloody animal feed that breaks in half for good measure, creating the mother of all chum slicks. Little wonder that bull sharks are pinging up all over town.
It has several subplots to keep the action and adrenaline flowing. That’s fine but these and the people they are about never feel more than subplots. We don’t care about any of them – even the pregnant woman or the adopted kids.
What we do get are a series of genuinely grizzly deaths, which is – after all – why most of us are here. And that isn’t a problem as these deaths are generally for those largely deemed as bad characters, such as the foster father dining on steaks and the three adopted kids essentially just on bread and water.
The pleasure we get as he finally receives his comeuppance effectively means we are rooting for the shark during several scenes.
The water keeps on rising, as does the tension in several scenes, including when one of the adopted children has to swim underwater to the basement and avoid one of the marauding bull sharks.
Djimon Hounsou is by far the most memorable character, we hope he is going to be the film’s riff on Quint figure mixed with a healthy dollop of Hooper. Sadly, he ends up more like Basil Exposition and doesn't really have a lot to do. His hippo story isn't exactly the USS Indianapolis speech, but it is a fresh angle at least.
And things go up a notch, which was totally unexpected, when we get a pregnant great white cruising into town, which momentarily raises the stakes and in many ways could be said to save the day. And then it isn't mentioned again. Which is a shame.
Although after several bull sharks are killed - one by said pregnant great white - everyone seems to relax a bit and everything is tied up quicker than an episode of Scooby-Doo. The adopted kids even ride through the flood water on the hood of the car, still surrounded by flood water. Er, guys there’s still a great white shark out there!
And then it looks like another storm is coming on the map. Roll credits. It's a fun romp with some nice set pieces and half decent/not too jarring effects, but the ending kind of just leaves us hanging, like it is part one of a two-part mini-series. So, it's not exactly a stunning ending.
Is Thrash trash? It isn't, but is disposable fun that doesn't stay too long on screen – it has a run time of just 80 minutes - or too long in the memory. By the time the flood waters have receded, so will the film from your thoughts.
Words by Dean Newman
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