I didn't expect much, and got what I expected. I can't believe this has 6 votes of a perfect 10. Was the cast and crew here on IMDb voting? There wasn't that much eye candy, although the HD broadcast was pretty good and Riley Smith is looking better than ever. There are a few minor technical flaws. For example, that was the strangest Florida coastline I've ever seen - complete with mountains, rocky islands, etc. It looked suspiciously more like Hawaii or Mexico. The only mountains I've seen in Florida where man-made ones in Disney World. Is it obvious I'm fishing for 10 lines here? This movie doesn't deserve 10 words, let alone 10 lines. Did I mention that Riley Smith is looking better than ever?
69 Reviews
it is more ambitious than the norm of this genre, but is pulled under the water by its abysmal attack sequences and hilariously harebrained denouement
TheUnknown837-114 August 2010
If it were not for the abysmally banality of the shark attack sequences, which are some of the worst I have ever seen, and for the ridiculous explanation at the denouement of the picture and all that leads up to it, "Spring Break Shark Attack" might have ended up being a merely passable made-for-television creature feature. Heck, it might have even ended up at being flat-out mediocre instead of a dead bore as it is. But it must be given more credit than the norm of this genre. It is much more ambitious than over creature features; they're at least trying at some point in the picture. It's rather amusing. In most movies like this, when we're away from the monster, we feel as lifeless as a piece of driftwood. When the creature arrives, we're still bored, but usually amused by the awful special effects and poor directing. Well, here, it's a little of the opposite. When there are no sharks, the movie is amusing and when there are sharks, it's as dull as dishwater.
They were at least attempting to build a good human story here. Our protagonist is played by Shannon Lucio (in a good performance) as a normally obedient high school graduate who decides to become a rebel and go to Florida on spring break against her father's will. She joins up with friends, ogles at the local beach stud (Riley Smith), tries to avoid a lascivious, sex-starved rival (Justin Baldoni), and then...well, you guessed it, evades man-eating sharks. Yes, around this time, a group of sharks begin to attack the beach on spring break.
I may be crucified by some, but I cannot deny that there were some parts of this movie that I did enjoy. None of them had to do with the sharks, however. They had to do with Shannon Lucio, who is quite good in the movie, and her character and what she goes through. Her relationship to her romantic interest is banal and boring, but there are some good elements such as her attempt to bury the hatchet with her brother, who is studying at a seaside university, and oddly enough the scenes with her and Justin Baldoni almost work. These scenes don't always work, but you can feel the refreshing air where the filmmakers were at least attempting to make a good story. Unlike a great many "Jaws" rip-offs, where you get the sense even the makers of the movie couldn't have cared less.
So when the movie's out of the water, on the beach, it's not good, but not too bad either. At these moments, it might have had a 5/10 going for it. But then there's the shark attacks, which are so abysmally bad, and there are so many of them in the last half of the movie, that they pull everything under along with their screaming victims. The cardboard and rubber fins painted gray are utterly awful and the phony screaming and thrashing of their victims so cheesy that one cannot even laugh at them. Honestly, nobody expected a real scare from a movie called "Spring Break Shark Attack" but at least a good laugh here and there. Here, no laughs. The open time I opened my mouth at the sharks was to yawn. We also question why the sharks are congregating on this particular beach at this particular time and when we do find out why, the explanation the movie gives is so harebrained and boneheaded and deprived of logic (even on the standards of this genre) that it produces nothing more than an exhausted yawn.
Perhaps this film would have fared better had it been a beach story with no sharks or shark attack back-stories. Shannon Lucio is pretty and quite good in her role and there are some fine supporting performances, including two by great actors Kathy Baker and Byron Brown, but ultimately the movie is just too banal, too clichéd, and too dull to recommend even without the sharks. Coupled with them, it sinks lower on the scale. Ambitious as it is, "Spring Break Shark Attack" is nevertheless an unfortunate failure.
They were at least attempting to build a good human story here. Our protagonist is played by Shannon Lucio (in a good performance) as a normally obedient high school graduate who decides to become a rebel and go to Florida on spring break against her father's will. She joins up with friends, ogles at the local beach stud (Riley Smith), tries to avoid a lascivious, sex-starved rival (Justin Baldoni), and then...well, you guessed it, evades man-eating sharks. Yes, around this time, a group of sharks begin to attack the beach on spring break.
I may be crucified by some, but I cannot deny that there were some parts of this movie that I did enjoy. None of them had to do with the sharks, however. They had to do with Shannon Lucio, who is quite good in the movie, and her character and what she goes through. Her relationship to her romantic interest is banal and boring, but there are some good elements such as her attempt to bury the hatchet with her brother, who is studying at a seaside university, and oddly enough the scenes with her and Justin Baldoni almost work. These scenes don't always work, but you can feel the refreshing air where the filmmakers were at least attempting to make a good story. Unlike a great many "Jaws" rip-offs, where you get the sense even the makers of the movie couldn't have cared less.
So when the movie's out of the water, on the beach, it's not good, but not too bad either. At these moments, it might have had a 5/10 going for it. But then there's the shark attacks, which are so abysmally bad, and there are so many of them in the last half of the movie, that they pull everything under along with their screaming victims. The cardboard and rubber fins painted gray are utterly awful and the phony screaming and thrashing of their victims so cheesy that one cannot even laugh at them. Honestly, nobody expected a real scare from a movie called "Spring Break Shark Attack" but at least a good laugh here and there. Here, no laughs. The open time I opened my mouth at the sharks was to yawn. We also question why the sharks are congregating on this particular beach at this particular time and when we do find out why, the explanation the movie gives is so harebrained and boneheaded and deprived of logic (even on the standards of this genre) that it produces nothing more than an exhausted yawn.
Perhaps this film would have fared better had it been a beach story with no sharks or shark attack back-stories. Shannon Lucio is pretty and quite good in her role and there are some fine supporting performances, including two by great actors Kathy Baker and Byron Brown, but ultimately the movie is just too banal, too clichéd, and too dull to recommend even without the sharks. Coupled with them, it sinks lower on the scale. Ambitious as it is, "Spring Break Shark Attack" is nevertheless an unfortunate failure.
Fins and bikinis
MartianOctocretr516 March 2010
As campy as the title tells you it'll be.
A bunch of co-eds with a hodge-podge of teen soap opera back stories go to south Florida for Spring break. Unfortunately, some hungry tiger sharks are on Spring break too, and they aren't there for the beer, if you catch my drift. Meanwhile there's a dumb wolf player guy knocking out the lead character with a date rape drug, and drawling out stupidly concocted lies. Gee, you'll never guess who ends up as a Big Mac in the shark infested waters.
They waste a lot of time showing us the wolf guy annoying everybody, and eventually get around to showing some sharks. Occasionally, some extras show up to be immediately on the menu, to keep your interest. The sub-plots give at least some substance to the lead girl and the boat rental guy, and some others to a lesser degree.
More action than really expected. The shots of the girls are framed Bay Watch style, and there are some unintentionally dumb scenes. The big attack scene is a decently shot highlight moment, except for some cardboard "fins" casually drifting by the screaming swimmers. Still, not a bad watch, after all.
A bunch of co-eds with a hodge-podge of teen soap opera back stories go to south Florida for Spring break. Unfortunately, some hungry tiger sharks are on Spring break too, and they aren't there for the beer, if you catch my drift. Meanwhile there's a dumb wolf player guy knocking out the lead character with a date rape drug, and drawling out stupidly concocted lies. Gee, you'll never guess who ends up as a Big Mac in the shark infested waters.
They waste a lot of time showing us the wolf guy annoying everybody, and eventually get around to showing some sharks. Occasionally, some extras show up to be immediately on the menu, to keep your interest. The sub-plots give at least some substance to the lead girl and the boat rental guy, and some others to a lesser degree.
More action than really expected. The shots of the girls are framed Bay Watch style, and there are some unintentionally dumb scenes. The big attack scene is a decently shot highlight moment, except for some cardboard "fins" casually drifting by the screaming swimmers. Still, not a bad watch, after all.
Not as bad as I expected
vchimpanzee22 March 2005
As the movie opens, three pretty young women are floating in the water on a raft. One disappears, and the water turns red ...
Danielle wants to spend Spring Break in Florida. For one thing, she misses her friends Alicia and Karen, who went to a different college. Her strict lawyer father says no, but Danielle sneaks out anyway.
The beach is filled with good-looking young people. Danielle meets up with her friends, and J. T. and his friend Max have a video camera and want to pick up girls.
Danielle's brother Charlie, who is doing research for the local university, is concerned about the environmental effects of a new reef. His professor, after hearing him say sharks are likely to be a problem, reminds him of the boy who cried wolf. Nevertheless, Charlie tells his sister to stay out of the water.
Shane wants to go to college to study boat building. His mother isn't making enough from their boat rental business, though this is the busy season. Joel Gately, one of the customers, is having financial problems which would be solved if Spring Break wasn't quite so profitable here.
This would have been a perfectly good Spring Break movie without the sharks. Lots of gorgeous girls in bikinis (oh, almost forgot, there are guys with their shirts off). Wild parties with loud music. It's not always that exciting at first, but once the sharks really make their appearance, the excitement level builds. Again, it's not consistently exciting, but toward the end, I was glued to the screen.
Shannon Lucio was good as Danielle, who and showed a lot of intelligence in the process of helping save the day for her friends and, later, for everyone. Riley Smith was also good as Shane, who also really knew what he was doing.
Kathy Baker, as Shane's mother, did okay, but didn't really add that much for someone who is such a respected actress. Bryan Brown, as Mr. Gately, seemed to completely lack a conscience.
There was some great underwater photography (related to Charlie's research, not the sharks), though it didn't last long.
Consistency problem: the radio station started out as WZPP, then it was WZPZ, then WPZP. Makes you wonder what other problems there were.
Regardless, I thought this was pretty good.
Danielle wants to spend Spring Break in Florida. For one thing, she misses her friends Alicia and Karen, who went to a different college. Her strict lawyer father says no, but Danielle sneaks out anyway.
The beach is filled with good-looking young people. Danielle meets up with her friends, and J. T. and his friend Max have a video camera and want to pick up girls.
Danielle's brother Charlie, who is doing research for the local university, is concerned about the environmental effects of a new reef. His professor, after hearing him say sharks are likely to be a problem, reminds him of the boy who cried wolf. Nevertheless, Charlie tells his sister to stay out of the water.
Shane wants to go to college to study boat building. His mother isn't making enough from their boat rental business, though this is the busy season. Joel Gately, one of the customers, is having financial problems which would be solved if Spring Break wasn't quite so profitable here.
This would have been a perfectly good Spring Break movie without the sharks. Lots of gorgeous girls in bikinis (oh, almost forgot, there are guys with their shirts off). Wild parties with loud music. It's not always that exciting at first, but once the sharks really make their appearance, the excitement level builds. Again, it's not consistently exciting, but toward the end, I was glued to the screen.
Shannon Lucio was good as Danielle, who and showed a lot of intelligence in the process of helping save the day for her friends and, later, for everyone. Riley Smith was also good as Shane, who also really knew what he was doing.
Kathy Baker, as Shane's mother, did okay, but didn't really add that much for someone who is such a respected actress. Bryan Brown, as Mr. Gately, seemed to completely lack a conscience.
There was some great underwater photography (related to Charlie's research, not the sharks), though it didn't last long.
Consistency problem: the radio station started out as WZPP, then it was WZPZ, then WPZP. Makes you wonder what other problems there were.
Regardless, I thought this was pretty good.
as bad as it gets
jeff-9020 March 2005
I knew it would be awful, but I thought maybe the camp value would make it funny enough to watch. Wrong.
This is one where the IMDb comments minimum of 10 lines does nothing but waste disk storage someplace.
No plot, no suspense, awful acting by young actors you've never heard of for good reason and old actors who used to have a career (Bryan Brown should have retired after the first FX). The so called effects are as lame as they looked on the previews.
They throw in the standard teen romance that is as tepid and G-rated as possible. No chemistry, no heat, no point. No one is very likable, no one is unlikable either for that matter. The whole thing is like plain white rice.
It's a 1, but I gave it a 2 because there was at least one girl in a bikini visible during 95% of the scenes.
This is one where the IMDb comments minimum of 10 lines does nothing but waste disk storage someplace.
No plot, no suspense, awful acting by young actors you've never heard of for good reason and old actors who used to have a career (Bryan Brown should have retired after the first FX). The so called effects are as lame as they looked on the previews.
They throw in the standard teen romance that is as tepid and G-rated as possible. No chemistry, no heat, no point. No one is very likable, no one is unlikable either for that matter. The whole thing is like plain white rice.
It's a 1, but I gave it a 2 because there was at least one girl in a bikini visible during 95% of the scenes.
It's All In How you Look at it
mswatsoninc30 December 2005
It's best if you just view the movie in high speed reverse. If you do, you'll see an eloquent story of how a school of sharks throw up enough hormonal co-eds to open up a series of beaches on the Florida coast...so many that they are forced to party. A few of the regurgitated find one another and become friends. Apparently, the main regurgitated female is so inspired by what has happened in her own form of immaculate conception, that she adopts an at first just over protective, but, eventually loving family.
If you choose to watch the movie by way of the order that the producers, directors, and writers (whom I'm sure were paid for their troubles) intended, you may walk away from the film at best disappointed, and at worst claiming that there is no god.
If you choose to watch the movie by way of the order that the producers, directors, and writers (whom I'm sure were paid for their troubles) intended, you may walk away from the film at best disappointed, and at worst claiming that there is no god.
Note to casting agents: Talentless actors make good shark food
Moonhawk197510 April 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This weak TV-movie has the distinction of being the first movie in film history to combine spring breakers, lecherous college-age womanizers, date-rape, overprotective parents, struggling beachfront business owners and sharks in the same picture. It still doesn't make for a good movie.
Shannon Lucio is the girl with the overprotective parent. She lies and heads to Florida for spring break, where she quickly encounters lecherous college-age womanizers: two guys with a camcorder intent on videotaping their conquestsand scoring as many times as they can. But, she is attracted to the local working boy (Riley Smith) whose mom (Kathy Baker) is struggling to run her boat-tour business and trades barbs with another struggling business owner (Bryan Brown) from farther down the beach. And, to attract more business to his bar, Brown is dumping chum in the waters to attract the sharks.
More time is spent on the Lucio and Smith characters than on the sharks, which are more interesting in that there are so many in one area. You would even think with the words "shark attack" in the title, there would be more with them. As it is, all we get are a few attacks before commercial breaks and a goofy, extended scene at the end. The rest of the time we get a worthless WB-style romance between the two leads and a bunch of pointless plot devices (including date rape) with one of the camcorder guys.
Once we get to the "big" shark attack (a very large amount of them make a buffet out of the drunk spring break bathers), our heroes come to the rescue and (with the aid of more chum) lead the sharks back out to sea. If you were a shark and you had lots and lots of live bait to eat right in front of you, would you settle for old cut-up fish instead? I doubt it. This movie is stupid on every level; not that I was expecting more from a TV-movie.
Shannon Lucio is the girl with the overprotective parent. She lies and heads to Florida for spring break, where she quickly encounters lecherous college-age womanizers: two guys with a camcorder intent on videotaping their conquestsand scoring as many times as they can. But, she is attracted to the local working boy (Riley Smith) whose mom (Kathy Baker) is struggling to run her boat-tour business and trades barbs with another struggling business owner (Bryan Brown) from farther down the beach. And, to attract more business to his bar, Brown is dumping chum in the waters to attract the sharks.
More time is spent on the Lucio and Smith characters than on the sharks, which are more interesting in that there are so many in one area. You would even think with the words "shark attack" in the title, there would be more with them. As it is, all we get are a few attacks before commercial breaks and a goofy, extended scene at the end. The rest of the time we get a worthless WB-style romance between the two leads and a bunch of pointless plot devices (including date rape) with one of the camcorder guys.
Once we get to the "big" shark attack (a very large amount of them make a buffet out of the drunk spring break bathers), our heroes come to the rescue and (with the aid of more chum) lead the sharks back out to sea. If you were a shark and you had lots and lots of live bait to eat right in front of you, would you settle for old cut-up fish instead? I doubt it. This movie is stupid on every level; not that I was expecting more from a TV-movie.
Bad, waste of money and time...
herminator6419 July 2008
Eric Peterson who commented this movie before me must have some thing to do with this film, because i cant believe anyone giving this a 10 out of 10. Its really av bad movie with some nice chicks, and micro thrills. Regret that i saw it, a waste of time.
I'll give it 3 out of 10 because its not the worst movie I have seen, but not far from it either. It could maybe entertain young people as they don't see a movie like adults.
I almost forgot the bad effects and sharks looking like stiff plastic. Mainly the movie is about some young girls and a couple of boys hanging out on spring break. There isn't as much shark thrills as expected. i cant believe someone would spend money on making such a bad movie, as it has a lot of statists and effect, though they are bad just like my English. Sorry for that.
Summary: Se Jaws instead!
I'll give it 3 out of 10 because its not the worst movie I have seen, but not far from it either. It could maybe entertain young people as they don't see a movie like adults.
I almost forgot the bad effects and sharks looking like stiff plastic. Mainly the movie is about some young girls and a couple of boys hanging out on spring break. There isn't as much shark thrills as expected. i cant believe someone would spend money on making such a bad movie, as it has a lot of statists and effect, though they are bad just like my English. Sorry for that.
Summary: Se Jaws instead!
This is a boring and stupid shark film!
zizou-real2 September 2008
Oh my god! its not much to say about this awful film! the start of the film is boring, and maybe a half hour later you will Se a bunch of girls in bikini runigen around on a boat or a beach doesn't Mather what but they are screaming cause some stock footage and fake sharks is trying to eat them! The sharks are so god damn bad made even the CGI sharks are almost worse then the sharks in deep blue sea!!!!!! And 2 the acting is just awful no one of the actors has been in a film school! The only good things in this film is the ending scene on the beach when the tiger sharks attacks them!!!!! But..... Its a TV film so you cant think that its a true masterpiece. 3/10
Bryan Brown's best performance
In_Name_And_Blood8 August 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Bryan Brown is brilliant as the aptly named "Joel". My tips are that you fast forward through all the non-Brian parts and just watch "Joel" weave his magic.
Watch "Joel":
*Rent a boat! *Rent another boat! *Get yelled at! *Feel kinda sorry but not really!
And if you just watch his scenes, you can probably fit the whole movie into an ad break of "Queer as Folk" or "Full House" or something.
As well as having Bryan/ "Joel", this film (known as Dangerous Waters: SHARK ATTACK!!! in Australia, probably because we have neither spring nor breaks here, but plenty of dangerous things) also has some incredibly realistic sharks that turn up about twenty seconds from the end, a moronic geek that can't get sex but can make the world's greatest ever invention that really pisses off sharks, and date rape. There was so much date rape that this movie should have been called "Spring Break Date Rape" or "Bryan Brown Pops in Every Half Hour But The Rest Of The Movie's About Date Rape And Maybe Sharks, We're Not Sure".
Good stuff Bryan! Keep doing Australia proud!
Watch "Joel":
*Rent a boat! *Rent another boat! *Get yelled at! *Feel kinda sorry but not really!
And if you just watch his scenes, you can probably fit the whole movie into an ad break of "Queer as Folk" or "Full House" or something.
As well as having Bryan/ "Joel", this film (known as Dangerous Waters: SHARK ATTACK!!! in Australia, probably because we have neither spring nor breaks here, but plenty of dangerous things) also has some incredibly realistic sharks that turn up about twenty seconds from the end, a moronic geek that can't get sex but can make the world's greatest ever invention that really pisses off sharks, and date rape. There was so much date rape that this movie should have been called "Spring Break Date Rape" or "Bryan Brown Pops in Every Half Hour But The Rest Of The Movie's About Date Rape And Maybe Sharks, We're Not Sure".
Good stuff Bryan! Keep doing Australia proud!
They're gonna need a bigger boat...
tehsuck27 March 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Apparently due to the recent success of films like: Jaws, Jaws 2 and Jaws 3, the marketing wizards at CBS decided that a great way to attract a younger viewing audience to it's Sunday night schedule was to make Spring Break Shark Attack. Somewhere along the line, an executive said "hey, that sounds like a great idea." Unfortunately, there was nobody there to stop the madness.
The made-for-TV-shark-action-drama, or 'sharactirama,' opens by introducing us to the main character, Danielle, a smart, perky college girl, whose parents have refused to let her attend the spring break festivities in Florida because as dad says: "Boys only think of one thing!" Score one for Dad, not only is he correct (boys only think with their genitals), he's what we like to call "foreshadowing." Sooner than you can say "clichéd montage," and unbeknownst to her parents, Danielle has escaped to the lovely shark infested beaches of Florida. She meets up with her friends and the sharactirama is afoot.
I must applaud the makers of Spring Break Shark Attack for their attempt to combine and repackage portions of the great shark movies. For instance, the main character Danielle's brother is a nerdy marine biologist who notices a rise in sharks around the coral reef and wants to warn the public. Sound familiar? Before any good carnage begins in this, we are forced to sit through about one and a half hours of an ABC After School Special on date-rape. Danielle and friends meet two male meat-heads, one of which is involved romantically with Danielle's buddy. The other male character, JT (Justin Baldoni), is hot for Danielle. JT attempts to swoon her but his attempts are intercepted by Shane (Riley Smith). Shane runs the local boat charter with his mom and meets Danielle when she looks for her brother Quint err, I mean what's his name? Oh who cares. After about an hour, JT finally slips a roofie into Danielle's drink and his date-rape is almost complete when sneaky Shane comes to check up on Danielle. Next they are all out on a charter boat and the script starts to resemble something from a bizarre version of Polanski's Knife on the Water.
Meanwhile Shane's mom, Mary (Kathy Baker), is renting charter boats to Joel Gately (Bryan Brown, a poor man's Michael Caine). Mr. Gately is somehow involved in the neighboring beach's chamber of commerce. The point is, he's renting boats at strange hours and paying with large sums of cash. Next thing you know, "we're gonna need a bigger boat!" Yes, something's rotten with Gately, and if you think that is a spoiler, you'd have to be completely lobotomized not to know it within the first ten minutes.
After a pointless hour or so of character development and romance, we finally get some shark killing. Although the gore is quite cartoonish, it's somewhat rewarding. We've been watching this steaming pile of crap, and we deserve some arms bit off or at least the date-rapist's torso bitten in two. It doesn't quite get that graphic, but thankfully the Kuleshov effect is in full swing (shot of unsuspecting character in water, cut to stock footage of shark, cut to water filled with bright red paint).
I'd be a complete liar if I said Shark Attack didn't make me laugh out loud at least four or five times. It's bad, but the producers have spent money on the things that are important to the story: lots of sun tanned and oiled up extras. The absence of shark footage from this film is mostly hilarious if not entertaining and when there is shark footage; it's either a fake dorsal fin or its 16mm stock footage.
It's probably best to describe Spring Break Shark Attack as the From Dusk Till Dawn of TV Shark movies: it starts off as a lifetime movie about date rape (that's TV for women in case you don't have cable), and midway metamorphosizes into an incoherent and badly written shark film. Worthy of a few laughs, and plenty of eye candy, it's so clichéd it's a must-see for anyone bored on a Sunday night.
The made-for-TV-shark-action-drama, or 'sharactirama,' opens by introducing us to the main character, Danielle, a smart, perky college girl, whose parents have refused to let her attend the spring break festivities in Florida because as dad says: "Boys only think of one thing!" Score one for Dad, not only is he correct (boys only think with their genitals), he's what we like to call "foreshadowing." Sooner than you can say "clichéd montage," and unbeknownst to her parents, Danielle has escaped to the lovely shark infested beaches of Florida. She meets up with her friends and the sharactirama is afoot.
I must applaud the makers of Spring Break Shark Attack for their attempt to combine and repackage portions of the great shark movies. For instance, the main character Danielle's brother is a nerdy marine biologist who notices a rise in sharks around the coral reef and wants to warn the public. Sound familiar? Before any good carnage begins in this, we are forced to sit through about one and a half hours of an ABC After School Special on date-rape. Danielle and friends meet two male meat-heads, one of which is involved romantically with Danielle's buddy. The other male character, JT (Justin Baldoni), is hot for Danielle. JT attempts to swoon her but his attempts are intercepted by Shane (Riley Smith). Shane runs the local boat charter with his mom and meets Danielle when she looks for her brother Quint err, I mean what's his name? Oh who cares. After about an hour, JT finally slips a roofie into Danielle's drink and his date-rape is almost complete when sneaky Shane comes to check up on Danielle. Next they are all out on a charter boat and the script starts to resemble something from a bizarre version of Polanski's Knife on the Water.
Meanwhile Shane's mom, Mary (Kathy Baker), is renting charter boats to Joel Gately (Bryan Brown, a poor man's Michael Caine). Mr. Gately is somehow involved in the neighboring beach's chamber of commerce. The point is, he's renting boats at strange hours and paying with large sums of cash. Next thing you know, "we're gonna need a bigger boat!" Yes, something's rotten with Gately, and if you think that is a spoiler, you'd have to be completely lobotomized not to know it within the first ten minutes.
After a pointless hour or so of character development and romance, we finally get some shark killing. Although the gore is quite cartoonish, it's somewhat rewarding. We've been watching this steaming pile of crap, and we deserve some arms bit off or at least the date-rapist's torso bitten in two. It doesn't quite get that graphic, but thankfully the Kuleshov effect is in full swing (shot of unsuspecting character in water, cut to stock footage of shark, cut to water filled with bright red paint).
I'd be a complete liar if I said Shark Attack didn't make me laugh out loud at least four or five times. It's bad, but the producers have spent money on the things that are important to the story: lots of sun tanned and oiled up extras. The absence of shark footage from this film is mostly hilarious if not entertaining and when there is shark footage; it's either a fake dorsal fin or its 16mm stock footage.
It's probably best to describe Spring Break Shark Attack as the From Dusk Till Dawn of TV Shark movies: it starts off as a lifetime movie about date rape (that's TV for women in case you don't have cable), and midway metamorphosizes into an incoherent and badly written shark film. Worthy of a few laughs, and plenty of eye candy, it's so clichéd it's a must-see for anyone bored on a Sunday night.
Best movie ever.
ibwa1@hotmail.com21 March 2005
When I think of good films, several movies come to mind. But as of March 20th 2005, when I think of good films, I will now think of "Spring Break Shark Attack". At first I was skeptical, will there be Sharks? Will they attack? And if they do, will they attack during spring break? The answers came soon enough and they were "yes", "yes", and "yes". This movie is loaded with Hollywood Juggernauts such as Justin Baldoni, Ryan Brown, and Shannon Lucio. It was a star studded cast, and i'm sure Hollywood is going to take notice of the outstanding piece of history. Not since the legendary Corey Feldman took to the silver screen have I seen such outstanding performances. Three cheers all around, to every person who worked on this masterpiece, and for the first time in so long, made a true American classic.
Score: 10/10
Score: 10/10
Not as Bad as People Say it is!!!
justinhiggins3421 August 2020
All of the negative reviews are understandable. This movie has a vague over done plot of students going to the beach for spring break and sharks attack. Pretty lame plot I must admit, plus all of the main characters are stereotypes. Shannon plays the cute girl who needs saving. You have the guy that doesn't have money but is really a good guy, then you have the party college guy who uses drugs to rape girls. Add on that the girls geeky brother, who doesn't get girls and spends too much time on his projects. This movie is stereotypes galore with characters and plot
However, if the movie is viewed for what it is, and that's just a silly made for TV movie about so called stereotypical college students at on Spring Break then it's actually quite entertaining, and a pretty fun movie to watch. Don't take it seriously.
However, if the movie is viewed for what it is, and that's just a silly made for TV movie about so called stereotypical college students at on Spring Break then it's actually quite entertaining, and a pretty fun movie to watch. Don't take it seriously.
How dumb do they think we are?
santamufasa20 March 2005
This must be one of the biggest wastes of time in celluloid history. This follows the same genre formula for every shark movie that ever existed. The acting was pathetic. Most of the minutes in the movie were simply lame bikini titillation shots.
All week long, the TV teasers bragged that the movie featured "Shannon Lucio". Check out Shannon's portfolio here on IMDb. The only actors in this film with any real credits to their names are Bryan Brown (Rollie Tyler in "F/X") and Kathy Baker (Dr. Jill Brock from "Picket Fences") whose performances here were totally wasted.
The movie makers paid no attention to detail: The movie was supposed to have taken place in Florida, yet where in Florida do you find mountainous California-Channel-Islands-style islands just off Florida's shore? Do the movie makers think we are idiots?
This is the perfect movie for IMDb to justify their 1-10 rating scale to go negative.
All week long, the TV teasers bragged that the movie featured "Shannon Lucio". Check out Shannon's portfolio here on IMDb. The only actors in this film with any real credits to their names are Bryan Brown (Rollie Tyler in "F/X") and Kathy Baker (Dr. Jill Brock from "Picket Fences") whose performances here were totally wasted.
The movie makers paid no attention to detail: The movie was supposed to have taken place in Florida, yet where in Florida do you find mountainous California-Channel-Islands-style islands just off Florida's shore? Do the movie makers think we are idiots?
This is the perfect movie for IMDb to justify their 1-10 rating scale to go negative.
Hysterically cliché ridden, awful acting, and bad dialogue
johannap21 March 2005
As a year round resident of Florida (one of the few under the age of 75), I have dreamt of spring breakers being eaten by sharks, lots and lots of sharks. My dreams were finally realized thanks to CBS finally bringing to the small screen a compelling story that needed to be told: "Spring Break Shark Attack." Simply put, this movie was hysterical. Yes, it was full of clichés, the worst acting this side of "Plan 9 from Outer Space", and terrible, terrible dialogue. Folks, the movie was named "Spring Break Shark Attack." (The name alone sends me into fits of giggles.) Were you expecting Martin Scorcese? Because of its God-awfulness, I can't remember the last time a TV movie made me laugh so hard. One can only imagine how good it would have been to see this monstrosity on a big screen.
Spring Break has never been so Cheesy, well regarding sharks
ApemanB20 March 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I try my best to see shark movies, just because i enjoy how badly they are always done.
Well this one is probably on the bottom of the list. The problem with that though is that the sharks are very well done in this movie. Its the actors that are the problem. I've never seen such a bad movie on TV regarding sharks and spring break.
The acting in this is horrible. The main characters are no talents that are hopefully gonna stay that way, and the story, though more believable then most when it comes to the sharks, is ruined by subplots of {SPOILERS} : Date Rape, young love, and as always, kids not getting along with their parents.
Oh and don't forget, girls in bikini's Jello Wrestling.
Seriously though, do NOT watch this movie if they ever replay it again, it is a big waste of space, and not worth the time of anyone, even if they were in the production of the movie.
I give this movie a 1 out of 10, and Will suggest that you watch something much better like Red Water, a very good TV shark movie starring the talented Lou Diamond Phillips.
In conclusion, I'd rather watch a bucket of chum rot on a dock then sit through this again
Well this one is probably on the bottom of the list. The problem with that though is that the sharks are very well done in this movie. Its the actors that are the problem. I've never seen such a bad movie on TV regarding sharks and spring break.
The acting in this is horrible. The main characters are no talents that are hopefully gonna stay that way, and the story, though more believable then most when it comes to the sharks, is ruined by subplots of {SPOILERS} : Date Rape, young love, and as always, kids not getting along with their parents.
Oh and don't forget, girls in bikini's Jello Wrestling.
Seriously though, do NOT watch this movie if they ever replay it again, it is a big waste of space, and not worth the time of anyone, even if they were in the production of the movie.
I give this movie a 1 out of 10, and Will suggest that you watch something much better like Red Water, a very good TV shark movie starring the talented Lou Diamond Phillips.
In conclusion, I'd rather watch a bucket of chum rot on a dock then sit through this again
Even extracting my wobbly tooth was less painful!
TheLittleSongbird3 May 2011
I do like this sort of film when done well, but I should have known better. Seeing as it is syfy whose best work was just average at best. This movie was painful to watch, and although the cast are talented the only cast member to acquit themselves well is Shannon Luccio, who is pretty and charming.
That aside, Spring Break:Shark Attack is a very dull movie in my opinion. The film is not that well made, the editing in the attacks especially is rushed, and the effects, yes even the excessive gore shown, are incredibly fake.
The script is appalling too being smothered in the smelliest of all cheeses, the story is pedestrian in pace, has no tension and the ending was such a big letdown in how harebrained it was it made my head hurt. The characters are largely clichéd and the direction is sloppy. The worst part though were the sharks and the attacks. The attacks are abysmally done, severely lacking in atmosphere and suspense, and the sharks are like the rest of the effects, ridiculously fake.
Overall, painful excrement is what I call this movie. I did try to keep an open mind, but there were so many things bad with this movie I struggled to even do that. 1/10 Bethany Cox
That aside, Spring Break:Shark Attack is a very dull movie in my opinion. The film is not that well made, the editing in the attacks especially is rushed, and the effects, yes even the excessive gore shown, are incredibly fake.
The script is appalling too being smothered in the smelliest of all cheeses, the story is pedestrian in pace, has no tension and the ending was such a big letdown in how harebrained it was it made my head hurt. The characters are largely clichéd and the direction is sloppy. The worst part though were the sharks and the attacks. The attacks are abysmally done, severely lacking in atmosphere and suspense, and the sharks are like the rest of the effects, ridiculously fake.
Overall, painful excrement is what I call this movie. I did try to keep an open mind, but there were so many things bad with this movie I struggled to even do that. 1/10 Bethany Cox
Don't expect much, especially if you want to see some sharks
darthco23 May 2015
At first sight, you think that the film is going to be about blood- thirsty sharks hunting and killing lots of people as is the case with this genre. But this one is different: Sharks are only one sub-plot. Central to the theme of the film is an over-protected young teenager and her struggle to be an adult. Her father tracks every movement of her and boys are really into having sex with her in her spring break. Oh yes there are occasionally sharks as well, let's not forget!!!
The film is 85 minutes long and I noticed that sharks only began to appear (except the opening scene of the film) at the 70th minute. I have every reason to believe that everyone watching this film was more concerned with what would happen to the guy who was almost dying to get it on with the girl, rather than how sharks would relate to the ending.
I have seen many bad films that have sharks in it, but this is by far the most disappointing one.
The film is 85 minutes long and I noticed that sharks only began to appear (except the opening scene of the film) at the 70th minute. I have every reason to believe that everyone watching this film was more concerned with what would happen to the guy who was almost dying to get it on with the girl, rather than how sharks would relate to the ending.
I have seen many bad films that have sharks in it, but this is by far the most disappointing one.
Definitely not a 10
msblackeyes6823 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I'm assuming the bloke who said this was the best shark movie ever was someone who was part of the production? Writer maybe? The problem with this movie was it had 2 "alpha" story lines and neither had enough time spent on it to make it enjoyable. How the sharks end up on their reef was downplayed so much I almost missed it. They should have spent more time building on that then throwing in the second storyline of girl getting roofied. Not much in the shark attacks. Even the feeding frenzy fell short. The acting wasn't bad comparing it to other shark movies. They wouldn't win any awards, but they weren't that bad. No the problem with this movie was having 2 story lines that had nothing to do with one another. Each a strong story on its own and each needing the full hour and a half so u didn't feel cheated. I wouldn't say Don't watch the movie I would only suggest not to have high expectations. But then that's how most shark, actually most creature features, are. Do NOT go by the reviews that give it a 10. You'll be disappointed. It's a solid 3. Maybe a 4 if your not one who watches these type of movies expecting to see much in shark attacks.
Well, it was better than Jaws: The Revenge at least!
TOMASBBloodhound21 March 2005
What can I say? It was Sunday night, all the basketball games were over, it looked like there would be plenty of hot chicks in the movie....
Unfortunately, this movie was about as cheesy as it could get. It appears that a disgruntled club owner (Bryan Brown of Cocktail fame) from another spot along the coast has been luring sharks to the area in question to scare club goers back to his area. How is he doing this? By simply dumping piles of chum (cut up fish) into the water. And low and behold about a hundred tiger sharks show up and much on numerous spring breakers.
This film suffers from what generally dooms most made for TV films. It is cheap, poorly written, and looks like it was filmed in just a week or so. Bryan Brown must need some $ pretty bad. I guess it has been a while since Cocktail or F/X came out. He was about the only person I recognized. There were in fact quite a number of hot young women in the film. Most of the time, they are wearing bikinis too! That is about the only highlight here.
There is not enough time spent dealing with the sharks. There are romantic subplots involving date rape drugs, jealously, and a couple of jerks trying to film women like in the Girls Gone Wild videos. There was a little more blood than I expected, but not enough to make the action compelling.
The movie is also full of clichés, too. The poor working-class kid who is of course the nicest guy on the beach, but feels out of his element around the college kids. (Even though it's obvious the girl likes him.) The first people to die were promiscuous, the nerdy scientist character, the Coast Guard showing up as soon as the danger is over....
Oh well, it was made for TV. How could it have been really good?
The Hound will be generous and give it 5 of 10 stars.
ps: Coughlin's law says that if you are reduced to staring in cheap movies, make sure there are plenty of hot chicks to look at!!!!!
That's a little "Cocktail" humor for those of you born after 1989.
Unfortunately, this movie was about as cheesy as it could get. It appears that a disgruntled club owner (Bryan Brown of Cocktail fame) from another spot along the coast has been luring sharks to the area in question to scare club goers back to his area. How is he doing this? By simply dumping piles of chum (cut up fish) into the water. And low and behold about a hundred tiger sharks show up and much on numerous spring breakers.
This film suffers from what generally dooms most made for TV films. It is cheap, poorly written, and looks like it was filmed in just a week or so. Bryan Brown must need some $ pretty bad. I guess it has been a while since Cocktail or F/X came out. He was about the only person I recognized. There were in fact quite a number of hot young women in the film. Most of the time, they are wearing bikinis too! That is about the only highlight here.
There is not enough time spent dealing with the sharks. There are romantic subplots involving date rape drugs, jealously, and a couple of jerks trying to film women like in the Girls Gone Wild videos. There was a little more blood than I expected, but not enough to make the action compelling.
The movie is also full of clichés, too. The poor working-class kid who is of course the nicest guy on the beach, but feels out of his element around the college kids. (Even though it's obvious the girl likes him.) The first people to die were promiscuous, the nerdy scientist character, the Coast Guard showing up as soon as the danger is over....
Oh well, it was made for TV. How could it have been really good?
The Hound will be generous and give it 5 of 10 stars.
ps: Coughlin's law says that if you are reduced to staring in cheap movies, make sure there are plenty of hot chicks to look at!!!!!
That's a little "Cocktail" humor for those of you born after 1989.
As if! Those sharks are like...total party-poopers!
Coventry4 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I know it's a long shot but, just in case ANYONE ever wondered what a crossover between "Dawson's Creek" and the seventeenth sequel to "Jaws" would look like, here you have the answer! "Spring Break Shark Attack" is a pathetic and totally embarrassing TV-production that even makes recent shark-movie disasters like "Shark Attack" and "Megalodon" look like genuine masterpieces. This film is worse than you can imagine, with shallow characters, clichéd situations, ridiculous dialogues and some of the worst acting performances in cinema history. It's actually pretty funny, but the painful truth is that it wasn't at all meant to be funny. A fine selection of the most empty-headed, but nevertheless ravishing-looking teenagers meet up at a beach house in Florida to spend a spring break filled with parties, sunbathing and meaningless sex orgies. Little do they know, however, that a naughty businessman of the lesser popular East coast is luring bloodthirsty sharks to the beaches, hoping that tourists would come his way. Things get just a tad bit out of control when hundreds of hungry tiger sharks literally sink their teeth into the partying students. Danielle and her friends have to stop wondering for a second about which bikinis they should wear and focus on how they'll get back to school in one piece, once spring break is over. The very few sequences that involve shark attacks are hilarious, simply because footage of running and screaming girls is altered with scenes from National Geographic documentaries that are simply edited into this movie! We get an underwater close-up from a shark and then we see how people hysterically run towards the beach, pretty much like in those cheesy and low-budget Italian Jaws rip-offs from the late 70's/early 80's. The rest of the script is textbook teenage nonsense, with beauty queen contests, boyfriends cheating on their girlfriends and losing virginity at a drunken party. Only minutes after an intense shark incident at the open sea, the girls worry about their hair and nails again. Pure guff.
Come on it wasn't that bad!?!?
charliepops793 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
If you think this film is dreadful then clearly you haven't watched Mega Shark v's Giant Octopus, Transmorfers, The Day the Earth Stopped etc, etc, etc. Compared to those beauties this film deserves an Oscar.
I started watching this film thinking it was going to be absolutely dreadful but I was quite surprised, it wasn't that bad. I think this may have something to do with my incredibly low expectations when watching anything on the Syfy channel. If you think about it, it's actually more feasible than Jaws, but I'm not say it is in anyway better! But I did find it more believable that the guy out of Cocktail could lure tiger sharks in with bait and then they start attacking people, rather than one massive great white with a chip on it's shoulder starts going on a murderess rampage and is so strong that it can even take out boats, and it can roar!
I think most people would find this film vaguely entertaining and not feel like they've waisted too much of their life on it. Watch with extreme pessimism and you can only be pleasantly surprised.
I started watching this film thinking it was going to be absolutely dreadful but I was quite surprised, it wasn't that bad. I think this may have something to do with my incredibly low expectations when watching anything on the Syfy channel. If you think about it, it's actually more feasible than Jaws, but I'm not say it is in anyway better! But I did find it more believable that the guy out of Cocktail could lure tiger sharks in with bait and then they start attacking people, rather than one massive great white with a chip on it's shoulder starts going on a murderess rampage and is so strong that it can even take out boats, and it can roar!
I think most people would find this film vaguely entertaining and not feel like they've waisted too much of their life on it. Watch with extreme pessimism and you can only be pleasantly surprised.
The greatest movie ever!?
ilgonline21 March 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Wow! I've seen terrible movies before, but this one took the cake. The complete disregard for seriousness that the producers showed by adding a scene in which the "Desperate Housewives" get eaten by sharks made me cry with glee.
To put it bluntly, this is definitely a terrible movie. No question about it. But once you look past its (very) rough edges, you find an entertaining movie that makes you laugh. From the horrible special effects, to the hilarious death scenes (Oh man, I'm gonna windsurf right into the mouth of a shark, OUCH!), this movie has left me anticipating a DVD release. The acting is so bad, and the dialogue is like something written by a fifth grader. In one scene the resident scientist remarks about how there are bites on turtles by a large sea predator, like...sharks. Or something to that effect, I mean its just so ridiculously bad that its good.
CBS needs an Emmy for courage to put out something like this. Its the best TV movie I've seen in a long time, and also one of the worst. I can't wait to watch it again.
To put it bluntly, this is definitely a terrible movie. No question about it. But once you look past its (very) rough edges, you find an entertaining movie that makes you laugh. From the horrible special effects, to the hilarious death scenes (Oh man, I'm gonna windsurf right into the mouth of a shark, OUCH!), this movie has left me anticipating a DVD release. The acting is so bad, and the dialogue is like something written by a fifth grader. In one scene the resident scientist remarks about how there are bites on turtles by a large sea predator, like...sharks. Or something to that effect, I mean its just so ridiculously bad that its good.
CBS needs an Emmy for courage to put out something like this. Its the best TV movie I've seen in a long time, and also one of the worst. I can't wait to watch it again.
It was an okay movie
humaysha21 March 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I found that it was like the same story line as Jaws though 100 times worse. The first part was okay with those ladies when they were being attacked by sharks. But after that, it was all partying,and there was no chemistry. I actually changed channels twice. Then finally they brought the sharks in. It got a bit better after that. The only reason i liked it was that there were sharks and Shane (riley smith).The actors were all unknown except for 2, but all the rest looked like the didn't know how to act. It was hard sitting through the first hour but then when the violence came it was better. My favourite part of the movie was when Danielle (Shannon Lucio) went underwater to fix that electrifying thing and with all the sharks. It was beautiful when they show all the sharks. I rate it 6 out of ten.
Did Florida and California switch coasts?
weatherwatch20 March 2005
This made-for-TV movie, although mildly entertaining, has many flaws. For example, I never knew that Florida had mountains and rocky coasts. In fact, it doesn't! But mountains are in view numerous times, even when the actors continue to say they are in Florida! I can't believe somebody didn't think about this before film production! Also, this is your typical spring break plot: college students flocking to the beach where breasts, bikinis, muscles, alcohol, and drugs abound. And, oh, by the way, plenty of man-eating sharks. You could easily predict what was going to happen before it happened.
I know CBS can do better than this!
I know CBS can do better than this!
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