'Bait 3D' DVD Review

A shallow but fun ride -- er, swim.

Ex-lifeguard Josh has been a gloomy Gus in the year since his fellow lifeguard and brother-in-law-to-be was killed by a shark in an incident that Josh felt was his fault. Now no longer engaged, he's stocking shelves in a seaside supermarket, hopeful that he'll never have to deal with sharks again. Yeah, right. An earthquake triggers a massive tsunami that floods the market and surrounding areas, killing most of the shoppers instantly. The survivors find themselves trapped inside the flooded store by a blocked entrance, with others are stuck in their cars in the parking garage. But the worst part is that the tidal wave has brought in unwanted guests: two great white sharks with an insatiable appetite. Josh must put his aquatic expertise to good use to lead the ragtag bunch -- including his ex-fiancee, his boss, the head of security and his delinquent daughter, plus a pair of robbers whose heist was interrupted by the catastrophe -- past the man-eaters to safety.

Bait 3D is a fast-paced, fun, gory popcorn flick, the sort of enjoyably shallow confection you always hope (in vain) that the weekly SyFy creature feature will deliver. Outside of the more realistic scares of Open Water and The Reef, it's probably the best shark movie since the similarly toned Deep Blue Sea in 1999 (and certainly better than the more high-profile Shark Night 3D) -- granted, the bulk of the others have been the aforementioned SyFy fare.

Bait actually feels like what could be done if a SyFy movie had a $20 million budget (Its basic premise was actually used in 2009's Malibu Shark Attack, except set in a submerged lifeguard station and with prehistoric sharks.). It's got its dumb moments (Somehow they manage to craft a makeshift diving suit out of shopping baskets.), some of the acting is hammy and the overly expository dialogue is constructed for commercial sound bites, but the special effects on the tsunami and the sharks (a mix of CGI and real-world models) is excellent, the action is constant and the kills are R-rated and bloody, striking a good balance between horror and dark humor.

The DVD

Special features include a storyboard gallery.

Movie: C+
DVD: D

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