"The Black Demon" (2023)

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s The Black Demon, a thriller about a megalodon shark, distributed by The Avenue, and directed by Adrian Grünberg.

Synopsis

Josh Lucas (Ford v Ferrari, 'Yellowstone') stars in this edge-of-your-seat action thriller from the director of Rambo: Last Blood. Oilman Paul Sturges' (Lucas) idyllic family vacation turns into a nightmare when they encounter a ferocious megalodon shark that will stop at nothing to protect its territory. Stranded and under constant attack, Paul and his family must somehow find a way to get his family back to shore alive before it strikes again in this epic battle between humans and nature.

The Good

Joseph: There’s a megalodon in this movie (see “The Bad” below).

Mike: Corporate bureaucracy, some Aztec mythology, family drama, and — of course — some shark problems all come together as The Black Demon sports a fairly original plot that makes enough changes to shark movie tropes to present an engrossing story. The likable characters (for the most part) and the acting that brings them to life are all well north of center with Tommy (played by Carlos Solórzano), the son of lead protagonist Paul Sturges (Josh Lucas), being particularly good. There are some pretty decent special effects, both under and above water, and the giant shark looks suitably intimidating.

The Bad

Joseph: The megalodon is in the movie for a ridiculously short amount of time. I think the blatant product placement may tie it for the amount of screen time. Honestly, one character’s change of heart occurs upon the second close-up appearance of a Snickers bar. I’ll be diplomatic and say that The Black Demon simply didn’t work for me. Paul Sturges comes off as a selfish, entitled jerk, and the overwrought ending didn’t feel like an earned story arc for the character. Not many tears were shed over him, and part of that is down to the performances, which ranged from Lucas going into a rage at times to other amounts of corniness, though Fernanda Urrejola as Sturges’ wife Ines, Venus Ariel as teen daughter Audrey, and Juli Cesar Cedillo as oil rig worker Chato did their best to balance things out. Of course, the writing didn’t help much, either.

Mike: Making a shark movie seems like it would be easy, but because there’s been so many of them since Jaws made everyone afraid of the water, it’s a bit hard to deliver one that stands out from the crowd (unless you’re just being overly goofy like the Sharknado franchise), and sadly The Black Demon — despite some early promises — shows how hard it can be. An overly played out first act manages to get everyone into the same place so there can actually be some shark drama, but the execution is clumsy and you can’t help but think there could have been a simpler explanation.

Adding to the plot hurdles is the performance by Josh Lucas. Maybe he’s excellent in other work, but here he seems to be overacting as any time the script calls for him to be angry or determined he delivers his lines in a teeth-gritting growl that comes across as tough as Toro, the Chihuahua who lives on the oil rig. However, The Black Demon’s biggest flaw (in my eyes), is how little screen time the titular beast gets. Look, if you’re selling a movie on the premise that a giant megalodon shark is causing trouble, show it more often.

The Verdict

Joseph: Even if you’re a shark movie or creature feature completist, or an aficionado of Mexican folklore, I’d still recommend giving The Black Demon a pass.

Mike: Despite a fairly original plot, The Black Demon swims into some pretty familiar waters but still does an admirable job at trying to rise above its peers and stay afloat. The measure of its success at this is contingent upon your capacity to overlook the same culprits that seem to threaten to sink most lower-budget films, although likable characters and good performances by most of the cast give it a solid edge over many others in the sharks-causing-mischief genre.

The Black Demon, from The Avenue, is available in theaters, April 28th, 2023

The Black Demon