DVD Review: DINOSHARK (2010)

DINOSHARK
Directed by:  Kevin O'Neill
Distributed by:  Anchor Bay Entertainment

Let me start by saying that I love all these cheesy creature features they show on the Sci-Fi...or, sorry, the Sy-Fy network. Anytime I flip by that channel and see a giant snake or weird fish conglomerate, I can't help but stop and watch.    I loved last years SHARKTOPUS film, but somehow I missed DINOSHARK, and after finally getting to see it last night, I have to say I think it is even better than SHARKTOPUS!  Here is the plot from the Anchor Bay website:


It was frozen in glacial ice over 150 million years ago. Global warming has just hatched it in the Arctic. And now, it has traveled to Puerto Vallarta for a massive Mexican buffet of sailors, swimmers, lifeguards, jet skiers, horny tourists, bikini babes and more. It thrives in warm water. Bullets will not pierce its prehistoric armor. And it can leap out of the ocean to devour helicopters and parasailers. Can a rogue fishing boat captain and a sexy science teacher stop this ravenous pliosaur before it takes a monster bite out of the local fiesta and all-girl water polo tournament? Eric Balfour (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, "24") and Iva Hasperger star – along with award-winning B-movie producer Roger Corman himself – in the top-rated Syfy sensation about the blood-crazed primeval mutation called DINOSHARK!


 DINOSHARK was just as much fun to watch as SHARKTOPUS  (sorry, but it's hard not to compare the two), but I think the creature in DINOSHARK can actually be taken a little more seriously than that of the creature from SHARKTOPUS.  The Sharktopus was silly, but this is basically just an ancient dinosaur thought to be extinct that is an ancestor of our modern day sharks.  So this isn't some crazy mixture of animals like some would expect.  I expected a cross between a T-Rex and a Shark or something crazy like that.  This is a good thing, though, as it can be taken more seriously and actually led to some genuinely creepy parts when you do see people getting attacked.  You can't help but think of JAWS when you see people getting tugged under the water, and the music with the subtle nod to the JAWS theme is very fitting as well.

The film has some great attack scenes including the shark plucking a parasailer right out of the sky! The attack scenes are done well and actually have a good amount of gore in them....we see a few shots of random body parts floating in the water and the scene of a body, or half a body to be exact, washed up on the shore was very well done.   The blood and gore effect were turned up a notch for this one!

The acting in the film was good too, which is always a pleasant surprise with this type of film, and getting to see Roger Corman in front of the camera playing Dr. Reeves was a cool treat.

I think this is only the tip of the ice burg for these creature features..I think we will see many more mixed up animals to come and I wouldn't be surprised if we get to see DINOSHARK vs. SHARKTOPUS someday!  I say keep 'em coming.  These are great, cheesy movies and are just plain fun.  I recommend DINOSHARK for sure! 


CLICK HERE to watch the trailer
CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

CLICK HERE to visite the official website of Anchor Bay Entertainment