When a fracking environmental accident rips apart the earth's crust, the resulting hole lets out prehistoric sharks from underground. The sharks target a group of women and trap them in a cabin.
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Title: Sharkansas Women's Prison Massacre (TV Movie 2015)
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| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Dominique Swain | ... | Honey | |
| Traci Lords | ... | Detective Kendra Patterson | |
| Christine Nguyen | ... | Michelle Alika | |
| Cindy Lucas | ... | Anita Conners | |
| Amy Holt | ... | Shannon Hastings | |
| John Callahan | ... | Carl | |
| Corey Landis | ... | Detective Adam | |
| Chris De Christopher | ... | Prof. Orville (as Chris de Christopher) | |
 |
Tabitha Marie | ... | Samantha Pines |
| Serafin Falcon | ... | Mike | |
|
|
Oscar DeRosa | ... | John Raden (as Oscar de la Rosa) |
| Skye McDonald | ... | Sarah Mason | |
| John Archer Lundgren | ... | White-Haired Bandit | |
| Steven Louis Goldenberg | ... | Sam (as Steve Goldenberg) | |
|
|
Robert Hummel | ... | Fred |
Human greed and a rapacious local fracking company fracture a subterranean water pocket in Arkansas, releasing deadly amphibious sharks from the depths of prehistory. Now, an unsuspecting group of female prisoners on work detail and their guards find themselves up against the voracious apex predators that infest the broad Arkansas bayou, and absolutely no one is safe. These blood-thirsty sharks rule the swamps. Who shall live and who shall die in the Sharkansas women's prison massacre? Written by Nick Riganas
When a fracking environmental accident rips apart the earth's crust, the resulting hole lets out prehistoric sharks from underground. The sharks target a group of women and trap them in a cabin.
So, what is there to be said about this film? Jim Wynorski filmed in Florida, primarily because of the need for a cave, but also because his investors were Florida-based Cubans. He brought along actress Amy Holt, who has worked with Wynorski a few times, and included Traci Lords, who went mainstream thanks to Wynorski. Lords gives possibly her worst performance ever, and is cast in a role that really has nothing to do with the primary story.
I was not expecting much going into this film. I knew it was made-for-TV, and I've seen enough of Wynorski's work to know that his best years are long, long behind him. I had a little bit of hope because Tony Randel was attached as an editor and producer, and his name still carries weight. Randel brought along his daughter, Sofia Randel, who designed the main title sequence. That was canceled out by Traci Lords, who is grossly overrated and still somehow skirting by on her notoriety.
As cheesy as the CGI might be, allegedly it had even worse CGI the first time around and they had to call a second company in to redo it. Even the second company seemed to have a problem with continuity -- ground displaced by sharks in one moment is back in place the next. There were also legal complications, thanks to a meth-smoking production assistant. Never mind some of the plot nonsense, like the forced romantic moments and the so-called "first edition" of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" (which adds nothing to the story).
The film has a few nods or homages, such as to "Journey to the Center of the Earth". Also, Wynorski has always loved "Attack of the Crab Monsters" and wanted to remake it. He has said a script was written, but Roger Corman "didn't want to do it -- he thinks too much of the original film to do a remake." Wynorski was able to sneak in a reference or two to "Crab Monsters" here.
The best anyone can hope for with these sorts of movies is that they are so bad they cross back over into good again, because we can laugh at how stupid they are. I'm afraid to say this one never crosses over. It tries, and the Asian jokes are funny... but it seems to expect to be carried by trashy women with big breasts. I suppose for some people that's all you need.
Wynorski's next film, "Cobragator", was also filmed in the same Florida town, though financially backed by different producers. So look forward to seeing some of the same sets when that hits your screen in the summer of 2016.