Sharknado

Sharknado is a 2013 disaster film that fuses the horror and sci-fi genres, marking a notable entry to the niche of so-bad-it's-good cult classics. The film stars the recognizable faces of Ian Ziering and Tara Reid, familiar to fans from Beverly Hills, 90210 and the American Pie films, respectively. The supporting cast rounds out with John Heard, best known for his role in the Home Alone series.

Sharknado takes an over-the-top, almost self-deprecating, pulp approach to the commonly used disaster film trope, pairing it with our primal fear of the deadly hunters of the deep blue sea. The film toys with the surreal premise of a freak weather occurrence, a massive tornado out at sea, lifting sharks right out of the ocean and depositing them in flooded Los Angeles. What results is the titular Sharknado, a shark-infested tornado that brings seaborne terror to the inhabitants of the city, leading to a genuinely odd, but compelling, blend of horror, sci-fi, and outright parody.

Ian Ziering plays protagonist Fin Shepard, a fearless surfer and bar owner. Tara Reid co-stars as his estranged wife, April Wexler. Both end up banding together in extraordinary circumstances to save their teenage daughter and young son trapped in their home, now under attack by the airborne sharks. Ziering and Reid play their roles with a poker-faced sincerity, which improves the sublime absurdity of the popcorn spectacle.

In the shoes of a grizzled, old-school, bar regular George, John Heard delivers a performance that harkens back to the classic disaster movies of the 70’s and 80’s, managing to bring a sense of gravity to the otherwise outrageous scenario.

Only a few films manage to create a tension from the combination of weather-related threats and apex predators, and Sharknado manages to hit that nerve. Flooded streets provide our characters with their dose of dread as sharks newly emigrated from their ocean homes lurk in the brackish waters. As flood turns into a twister, the stakes are raised even more with not only cars and debris swirling in the wind, but ravenous sharks, multiplying the danger exponentially.

Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante and written by Thunder Levin, Sharknado is remarkably self-aware. Despite the virtually ludicrous underpinning, the makers of the film never lose sight of their goal to craft a high-octane, survival flick coupled with cheesy, but endearing humor. The action sequences are designed to elicit as much laughter as they are gasps, and the dialogue has a certain charm, echoing the kind of banter you might expect from B movie classics.

Added to the quirky charm of the film is the CGI, lending a further layer of unbelievability to the oddball premise. Sharks fly through the air with the kind of grace and dexterity unseen in nature, and blood-curdling chomping scenes add fun, nail-biting intensity to the action sequences. Various landmarks of Los Angeles, from the Santa Monica Pier to the Hollywood sign, experience the brute force of the Sharknado, providing a familiar, yet comically distorted view of the city.

Sharknado, despite, or perhaps because of, its unreal setup, has sparked a whole franchise, with multiple sequels following the original, administrating a generous helping of overblown absurdity, unintentional hilarity, and genuine excitement. But if swimming with sharks or high-wind weather systems aren’t terrifying enough individually, Sharknado convincingly builds a case for their hybrid being Hollywood’s ultimate nightmare scenario.

An unusual mix of comedy, horror, and disaster film, Sharknado surprises with its odd twists, outrageous, yet endearing plot, and unabashed commitment to its theme, all marked by the performances of actors who fully embrace the wildly eccentric narrative. Ultimately, it's a roller coaster ride that combines our terror of nature's wrath with a primal fear of one of nature's most fearsome predators, all served with a side of cinematic good humor.

In summary, Sharknado is the kind of film that you sit back and enjoy with a tub of popcorn, fully aware of the absurdities and gleefully accepting them for an entertaining ride through one of the most bizarre disaster scenarios possible! From the first minute to the last, it's an hour and a half of sheer, goofy, shark-infested fun – a whirlwind of riotous, creature-feature mayhem that has to be seen to be believed.