Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy (2005) (TV)

Director:

Michael Oblowitz

Writers:

Kenneth M. Badish (story)
Boaz Davidson (story)

Release Date:

18 June 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

When he began fusing human and shark DNA, his colleagues laughed at him. Now his creation is taking his revenge, and they aren't laughing anymore.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Boat | Genetic Engineering | Laboratory | Mad Scientist

Cast

William Forsythe	...	Tom Reed
Hunter Tylo	...	Amelia Lockhart
Jeffrey Combs	...	Dr. Preston King
Elise Muller	...	Jane Harper
Arthur Roberts	...	Whitney Feder
G.R. Johnson	...	Bernie Amos
Antony Argirov	...	Hammerhead (as Anton Argirov)
Mariya Ignatova	...	Julie
Velizar Binev	...	Dr. Krause
Atanas Srebrev	...	Erik Anderson
Pavel Doychev	...	Captain Sheldon
Emil Markov	...	Engineer
Yoanna Boukovska	...	Female 2
Nikolai Iliev	...	Man
Nikolai Sotirov	...	Guard 1 (as Nicki Sotirov)

Also Known As:

Hammerhead (USA) (DVD box title)
SharkMan (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence.

Runtime:

92 min | Germany:88 min (DVD version)

Country:

Aruba | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Germany:18 | Netherlands:16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Company:

Nu Image Films

Goofs:

Factual errors: The effect of increased nitrogen in the human bloodstream is known as nitrogen narcosis, which simulates the effects of drunkenness. This can have various health consequences, but immediate explosion is not one of them.

Quotes:

Amelia Lockhart: You're going to impregnate me?
Dr. Preston King: No.
[looks at the hammerhead shark in the tank]
Dr. Preston King: He is.

Not a bad film for Sci-Fi channel

First thing comes to mind with this movie was that this idea was done and executed before with Peter Benchley's Creature, but this is the first time the viewer gets to see it done in a way that they would be thinking, "Oh. My. God., their trying to breed this with a human." You see a plot happen before with Deep Blue Sea when they introduce human DNA into a shark, now they introduce a shark DNA into a human. The results of this become something rather nasty.

Jeffory Combs in this one plays a role that made him famous by Stuart Gordon, that being a mad scientist. This takes the mad scientist movie and gives it an even more sinister dimension. Keep in mind this isn't Herbert West, but a doctor who is a little more twisted.

So this takes the Benchly idea and makes it a tad meaner and a lot more violent. You actually get to see the creature eat his victims. I could crack in there with a joke when someone sees this beast, "Uh oh -- someone is about to become dinner." The plot is this. The doctor gets even with his former colleagues by luring them into a fortress with a promising all paid expenses vacation, innocent enough but when they get there he drops a big "F--K YOU" to them by saying they will be on his son's menu.

This is what happens when man plays God and f--ks with nature, nature gets even ten times over. It is tough what to tag this movie in the sense of it being a Science Fiction film or a horror film in itself because it has elements of both in there.

This movie in itself is a nasty horror film in its own right; but I will say it is trying to pick up more on what they did with Creature except in that one the shark had to breed with Great White. The idea with the creature breeding with a human made me go "EEEWWW."

I will go to say this one takes the idea with Benchley's Creature and makes it a little more frighting but this was done before with Benchley's story. Do I recommend this film -- yes if it ever comes to DVD. Watch Creature first so you can compare notes between the two; this one has one thing that makes it a little creepier than Creature -- even the plants are just as nasty as the shark is.

Moral of the story, don't go laughing at a psycho who has a sick idea of making a new species and planning to breed them. The infants in this one are just as freakish as the actual creature is. Even if Sci-Fi channel movies tend to be something viewers like to heckle the crap out of -- I will say they did okay with this one.

I will say Jeffery Combs is a type-casted actor now since he did Re-Aminator; he's well known in the genres of horror and Science Fiction. Still a good actor though for the genres he is best known in. The deaths are gruesome though in this -- the shark just doesn't use his teeth for them either.