People who love to watch movies about fictional shark attacks will get more bite for their bucks with veteran television director James A. Contner's "Shark Swarm," literally a shark munching marathon that clocks in at a whopping 169 minutes. Okay, the sharks--great whites,hammerheads, and scores of others--are primarily CGI creations. You will lose count of the number of times that one shark gobbles the camera, but Contner manages to generate a fair amount of suspense. Every time that anybody plunges into the briny deep, you know that they will wind up as shark bait. Of course, everything here is entirely preposterous, but you know that the seaweed huggers will love the ecology message. The teleplay by Matthew Chernov and David Rosiak takes its time with the formulaic plot that has "Jaws" written all over it with some melodramatic variations. Indeed, if "Jaws" did not discourage you would splashing around in the deep blue sea, "Shark Swarm" ought to with its fishy action.
Fisherman Daniel Wilder (John Schneider of "The Dukes of Hazzard" & "Smallville)and his wife Brook (Darryl Hannah of "Splash") along with their brother Professor Phillip Wilder (Roark Critchlow of "Komodo vs. Cobra")are the only people who refuse to sell out to a greedy real estate developer Hamilton Lux (Armand Assante of "I, Jury")who wants to turn the waterfront into a luxury condo. Lux has brought out everybody else in town and struggles to buy out Wilder, but he cannot make our hero an offer that he can refuse. Meanwhile, Lux's have a power plant and his scheming underling Kane Markus (John Enos III of "Demolition Man ") has been secretly dumping toxic waste into the coastal waters to drive off the fish and deprive the fishermen of their livelihoood.
Meanwhile, Philip strikes up a relationship with an EPA employee, Amy Zuckerman (Heather McComb of "Apt Pupil"), who initially starts out working with Lux until Philip woos her from the dark side. Eventually, she discovers foul play and Lux manages to wield his influence and has her removed from the job. When Philip is not making time with Amy, he is getting even more acquainted with popular college professor Professor Bill Girdler (F. Murray Abraham of "Scarface")who uses a NASA satellite to study the California coastal waters. Lately, he has been noticing schools of sharks swimming together and regards this behavior as anomalous. Before long even Daniel is suspicious. It seems that the phosphorous that Lux's henchmen have been secretly dumping has really screwed up the sharks. These predators attack anybody in the water! "Shark Swarm" is aptly titled because Contner shows up many scenes of swarming sharks that gang up on humans. In the last hour, things turn pretty melodramatic when Markus moves against Wilder and company and tries to drown them in a shark cage. Meantime, Philip has acquired secret pulse guns from another professor and discovers that when discharged at the schools of sharks that they scatter. Several other subplots crop up, including one about a little girl who refuses to wade into the water after she witnesses two shark attacks. Her distraught parents strive to make her look stupid, but she stands by her guns and gets to tell them after a narrow escape from shark infested waters that she "told them so." Professor Girdler picks up the sharks on his satellite imagery because they are glowing with the phosphorous and he warns our heroes that three beaches are liable to turn into massacres. At one point, Markus tries to kill Daniel and Brook, but Brook outsmarts him. This is the most anemic scene in this made-of-the Sci-Fi Channel movie. Daniel and Brook are suspending in a shark cage that the predators will gnaw through in no time. Miraculously, largely owing to circumstance and the fact that they are hero and heroine, they survive.
Amand Assante makes a slimy villain as does John Enos III. They get their comeuppance just as you would expect. Chomp! "Shark Swarm" is fairly predictable with few surprises, but the familiar cast and their sterling performances help out and the story does manage to hold your attention despite its excessive running time.
Fisherman Daniel Wilder (John Schneider of "The Dukes of Hazzard" & "Smallville)and his wife Brook (Darryl Hannah of "Splash") along with their brother Professor Phillip Wilder (Roark Critchlow of "Komodo vs. Cobra")are the only people who refuse to sell out to a greedy real estate developer Hamilton Lux (Armand Assante of "I, Jury")who wants to turn the waterfront into a luxury condo. Lux has brought out everybody else in town and struggles to buy out Wilder, but he cannot make our hero an offer that he can refuse. Meanwhile, Lux's have a power plant and his scheming underling Kane Markus (John Enos III of "Demolition Man ") has been secretly dumping toxic waste into the coastal waters to drive off the fish and deprive the fishermen of their livelihoood.
Meanwhile, Philip strikes up a relationship with an EPA employee, Amy Zuckerman (Heather McComb of "Apt Pupil"), who initially starts out working with Lux until Philip woos her from the dark side. Eventually, she discovers foul play and Lux manages to wield his influence and has her removed from the job. When Philip is not making time with Amy, he is getting even more acquainted with popular college professor Professor Bill Girdler (F. Murray Abraham of "Scarface")who uses a NASA satellite to study the California coastal waters. Lately, he has been noticing schools of sharks swimming together and regards this behavior as anomalous. Before long even Daniel is suspicious. It seems that the phosphorous that Lux's henchmen have been secretly dumping has really screwed up the sharks. These predators attack anybody in the water! "Shark Swarm" is aptly titled because Contner shows up many scenes of swarming sharks that gang up on humans. In the last hour, things turn pretty melodramatic when Markus moves against Wilder and company and tries to drown them in a shark cage. Meantime, Philip has acquired secret pulse guns from another professor and discovers that when discharged at the schools of sharks that they scatter. Several other subplots crop up, including one about a little girl who refuses to wade into the water after she witnesses two shark attacks. Her distraught parents strive to make her look stupid, but she stands by her guns and gets to tell them after a narrow escape from shark infested waters that she "told them so." Professor Girdler picks up the sharks on his satellite imagery because they are glowing with the phosphorous and he warns our heroes that three beaches are liable to turn into massacres. At one point, Markus tries to kill Daniel and Brook, but Brook outsmarts him. This is the most anemic scene in this made-of-the Sci-Fi Channel movie. Daniel and Brook are suspending in a shark cage that the predators will gnaw through in no time. Miraculously, largely owing to circumstance and the fact that they are hero and heroine, they survive.
Amand Assante makes a slimy villain as does John Enos III. They get their comeuppance just as you would expect. Chomp! "Shark Swarm" is fairly predictable with few surprises, but the familiar cast and their sterling performances help out and the story does manage to hold your attention despite its excessive running time.