Red Water (2003) (TV)

Director:

Charles Robert Carner

Writers (WGA):

J.D. Feigelson (written by) and
Chris Mack (written by)

Release Date:

17 August 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Fear Strikes Where You Least Expect It.

Plot:

A freshwater shark wreaks havoc as it heads up a Louisiana river.

Plot Keywords:

Shark | Ex Wife | Oil Rig | Fisherman | Bayou

Cast

Lou Diamond Phillips	...	John Sanders
Kristy Swanson	...	Dr. Kelli Raymond
Coolio	...	Ice
Jaimz Woolvett	...	Jerry Collins
Rob Boltin	...	Emery Brousard
Langley Kirkwood	...	Brett van Ryan
Dennis Haskins	...	Captain Dale Landry
Gideon Emery	...	Gene Bradley
Charles Dumas	...	Hank Ellis
Clive Scott	...	Grandpa Gautreau
Nicholas Andrews	...	André Gautreau
Hilton Myburgh	...	Vidrine
Garth Collins	...	Lacombe, Oil Rig Worker
Tumisho Masha	...	Rick (as Tumisho K. Masha)
Shirley Davidson	...	Tricia

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 (self applied) | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:13 | Germany:16 | New Zealand:R13 | South Korea:15 | UK:12 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Company:

Sony Pictures Television

Trivia:

The license plate on the sunken car is Louisiana 007 o 981 - the same one that Hooper pulled out of the shark in Jaws (1975)

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Though the movie is set in Louisiana, the lifeguard at the lake wears a red "Vodacom" swimsuit. Vodacom is a South African cellular provider, clearly giving away the filming location.

Quotes:

Dr. Kelli Raymond: [about a gash on his head] Nasty.
Brett van Ryan: You have no idea.

Movie Connections:

References Deliverance (1972)

Original, but rubbish shark movie

Red Water is the latest in a long line of straight to DVD shark movies to prop up the shelves at your local Blockbuster. And considering the multitudes of low-budget shark films out there, you'd have thought that producers might have figured out how to make a good one by now. Not so, because despite a refreshing premise, Red Water is destined to swim with the likes of Shark Attack, Megalodon, Shark Zone and legions of others in the realms of bottom shelf mediocrity.

On the plus side, the premise is actually quite good. Instead of the usual scenario whereby a shark terrorises a holiday resort or an underwater submarine, we get one swimming up into the Louisiana bayou. The fish in question you see is a bull shark, an animal capable of surviving in fresh water. At first glance, this film's closest cousin appears to be Piranha, especially when a young girl gets devoured at a local swimming hole, but things soon continue in a different direction.

This is down to the fact that there's a bunch of guys obsessed with drilling in the river. Cue Lou Diamond Philips (taking things way too seriously for this sort of movie), a boat owner with a troubled past who must give a lift to his ex-wife (Kristy Swanson) and a stereotypical rich bloke upriver to visit one of the platforms. Unfortunately for them, they've got to contend not only with the shark, but a trio of criminals (including Coolio believe it or not) on the hunt for a missing suitcase filled with cash.

From this we get an hour and a half where the pace shifts dramatically. The shark all but disappears after the first five minutes, which is really a blessing considering how stupid it looks, then doesn't make a significant return until much later in the movie. The attacks are also a bit naff and only the incredibly silly scene where an opinionated nature lover gets eaten really stands out. The violent finale on the other hand is an absolute blast, with boats exploding, gun battles, people running around on fire and a shark eating everything that falls into the water, culminating in a highly original b-movie shark death. Sadly though, it doesn't make up for the the previous hour, where the film makers seem unsure of whether they're making a shark film or a hostage one and fail to balance the tension with any effectiveness to speak of.

So yes, it's cheesy. It's stupid. It's packed to the rafters with stereotypes and bizarrely for a film like this, doesn't feature a huge number of women striding around in the smallest swim suits known to man. The last twenty minutes is terrific but everything else is utterly forgettable. You'd be better off watching Deep Blue Sea again but credit where credit's due, you can't fault them for trying something new.