Paul Magne Haakonsen
Initially when I sat down to watch this movie I was expecting it to be yet another of those endless streams of crappy b-movies about killer animals, a movie with lousy effects and an equally lousy storyline. "Swamp Shark", despite its name, was actually surprisingly nice in comparison with so many others of the same genre.The storyline in "Swamp Shark" was pretty much as expected, a killer shark on the rampage, in a swamp nonetheless, terrorizing the people in the area and going on a feeding frenzy. Of course it terrorizes the wrong people and they decide to hunt it down. I mean, what else are restaurant owners to do, eh? Pretty much textbook storyline here, so don't expect any brilliant ideas or surprise plot twists. And you already know the ending of the movie right from the first minute of watching it. But hey, the movie was still entertaining.As for the cast in "Swamp Shark", well then I think they were actually alright, and put on good performances. Of course, with a movie like this, it is not going to be award-winning performances, but still, the actors and actresses did good jobs with their given roles. Most of the cast was fairly unfamiliar to me, so it was good to see some new faces.The special effect and CGI in "Swamp Shark" was good enough. Sure there were a couple of scenes where you don't buy into the CGIs, as they were just too much of an eyesore, but in overall general, the effects and CGI came off working well enough.Despite "Swamp Shark" being somewhat better than so many of the same genre, there just isn't enough entertainment value in the movie for a second watching. You watch this movie once, then bag and tag it on the DVD shelf.
TheLittleSongbird
I'll start off by saying I dislike a lot of SyFy movies, but the cast on paper didn't seem so bad. The premise was one that could've gone either way. After seeing it last night, I have to say while it is far from a perfect movie it is tolerable compared to a lot of what SyFy have done.My feelings on the computer effects were mixed. They were not so bad underwater, which were quite nicely shot, but looked a little cheap elsewhere. That said though, SyFy have done much worse. The story is quite a decent idea, is well paced and starts off well with some suspense in the build ups, but there are some moments that come across as silly and unbelievable.The script is not award-worthy, but apart from the odd cheesy line, it is not as terrible or as clichéd as I was expecting. The direction is efficient enough and the editing is not too slapdash.Swamp Shark has some nice scenery and is generally well shot. It is also never too cheesy or overdone and doesn't take itself too seriously. The music is serviceable without being exceptional, it sets the mood alright which is something a lot of SyFy movies did not do.The characters are likable, compared to the underdeveloped, stereotypical and annoying characters you often find, and the acting from Kirsty Swanson and DB Sweeney is surprisingly good. Overall, fun if silly, one of the movies in the sprinkle of tolerable SyFy amongst the sea of terrible ones. 6/10 Bethany Cox
el7
Swamp Shark is a SyFy Original Picture, and in spite of not being particularly shocking or scary, it's still highly watchable. The plot concerns a dastardly sheriff who releases a man-eating shark into the bayou, and the subsequent attempts of a brave local family to remove the thing before it eats too many of their establishment's customers. Robert Davi plays the heavy with gleeful malevolence, Kristy Swanson is back in heroic form as the head of the family, and D.B. Sweeney lends his affable charm to a mysterious role that becomes quite clear the first time you see him using a zoom lens.The shark is actually rather effective through most of the first two thirds of the movie. The filmmakers take a cue from Jaws and don't show too much of it, mostly a fin slicing through the water and the occasional dappled view of it (rendered in CGI of course) gliding through shadows underwater. It works, right up until the end when it finally launches itself out of the murk and into clear view, at which point it's as realistic looking as any SyFy Original Pictures CGI monster, which is to say: not in the slightest.But most people who tune in for these flicks aren't there for the thrills and chills anyway. We're there to watch familiar actors chew up the scenery in a goofy monster movie, and on that score, Swamp Shark completely delivers.
jerrilynnbthomas
A Syfy movie is typically hit or miss. They finally have an interesting script. I'm most likely biased because I'm from Louisiana. The food, music, interaction between the cast and a killer shark in the swamp have kept me glued to the screen. Swamp Shark is character driven instead of creature driven. The previous summer premiere movies like Moby Dick bored the heck out of me. It is really nice to watch a movie about the Cajun country in which the characters accent is not a miss. Not everyone from Louisiana has a thick Cajun accent.My only beef is that the ending could have been better.