"Shark Girl" (2024)

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 Shark Girl by Justin Shilton & Rob Zazzali, and Swim Swim Entertainment.

Synopsis

When a beautiful young influencer (Alexandra Corin Johnston as Heidi) survives a mysterious shark attack, she becomes a monstrous apex predator, hunting and feeding in sunny Venice Beach, California.

The Good

Joseph: The lead cast members — Alexandra Corin Johnston as model/social influencer turned part-time monster Heidi, Sumayyah Ameerah as her best college friend Sienna, and Nick Tag as local budding reporter Christopher — all give solid performances. Cowriters/codirectors Justin Shilton and Rob Zazzali follow some familiar beats but their earnestness behind their project is unquestionable. The proceedings are mostly played straight, and though unintentional humor sneaks in on occasion, the big heart behind Shark Girl is evident throughout.

Mike: Shilton and Zazzali lean fully into their concept of social-influencer turned human shark and as a result Shark Girl is a committed B-movie that wears its heart on its sleeve, embracing its absurdity with a totally straight face which makes the humor work so well. There's a subtle undercurrent of social commentary, particularly regarding the dangers of social media and being taken advantage of which adds a layer of depth to the story.

Lead actress Johnston (“Heidi”) delivers a solid performance, capturing her character’s internal conflict and transformation convincingly, while everyone else equally inhabits their roles to different degrees of success.

The Bad

Joseph: Viewers expecting either a cool or corny looking monster design will likely come away disappointed, as the titular creature comes across as basically a vampire with extra teeth. For an 82-minutes-with-credits movie, two dance sequences feel like padding to help get the film to a feature length. I don’t want to give away the ending, but I will say that I’m not a fan of movies that ask you to invest your time and interest in story and characters and then end in this manner.

Mike: The story of Shark Girl follows a fairly predictable path, and some viewers may find the plot developments to be cliché or predictable. While there’s obviously a budgetary reason for keeping things simple, a little more work for Heidi’s sharked-out look could have helped - perhaps some black, soulless looking contact lenses.

Without getting into spoiler territory, the ending may turn some people off. I think keeping things a bit more vague would have worked better as a stand-alone feature instead of basically setting up a sequel.

The Verdict

Joseph: There’s enough to like about Shark Girl that I can recommend it as an entertaining B-movie watch, especially for fans of low-budget independent creature features.

Mike: Overall, Shark Girl is a low-budget horror film that offers a unique and entertaining viewing experience. While it may not become a classic, it's definitely worth checking out for fans of the genre.