''Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy'', also known as ''Sharkman'' or simply ''Hammerhead'', is a 2005
Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
original movie, written by Kenneth M. Badish and
Boaz Davidson
Boaz Davidson ( he, בועז דוידזון, ; born 8 November 1943) is an Israeli film director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. He was born in Tel Aviv, Israel and studied film in London at London Film School.
Biography
Davidson was ...
, and directed by
Michael Oblowitz
Michael Oblowitz is a South African filmmaker.
Early life and education
Oblowitz was born in Cape Town where he grew up surfing in the 1970s. He is a Fine Arts and Philosophy graduate of the University of Cape Town. He received an M.F.A. in Fi ...
. The film stars
William Forsythe,
Hunter Tylo
Hunter Tylo (born Deborah Jo Hunter; July 3, 1962) is an American actress, author and former model. She is best known for her role as Taylor Hayes (The Bold and the Beautiful), Taylor Hayes (1990–2002, 2004–14, 2018–19) on ''The Bold and t ...
, and
Jeffrey Combs. The film premiered on Syfy on June 18, 2005.
Plot
Paul King (Anton Argirov) dies of
kidney cancer. Five years later, his father Preston King (
Jeffrey Combs), a scientist, invites the doctors that could not save his son to his uncharted island in the western Pacific. Paul's widowed wife Amelia Lockhart (
Hunter Tylo
Hunter Tylo (born Deborah Jo Hunter; July 3, 1962) is an American actress, author and former model. She is best known for her role as Taylor Hayes (The Bold and the Beautiful), Taylor Hayes (1990–2002, 2004–14, 2018–19) on ''The Bold and t ...
), who believes Paul died five years ago from cancer, and Amelia's new love interest Tom Reed (
William Forsythe), also travel to the island. There, King reveals that Paul never died and was saved from death by being injected with
hammerhead shark DNA to modify his stem cells. This turned Paul into a half-man/half-shark creature. King releases the water from the tank where he was keeping Paul, in hopes that he will eat the doctors as revenge for them firing him from his job five years previously. As Paul, now known as Hammerhead, chases after them, they escape along with Hammerhead.
Hammerhead starts to attack Bernie nearly the docks and almost rip his right leg off. He then kills Julie by ripping her apart into pieces when she is separated from Whitney. Then the monster kills the wounded Bernie, then the doctor Katie Medevenko who sided with the protagonists but unfortunately falls into water after King's men attack where Hammerhead kills her, and he eats Jane alive while she tries to relieve her burns.
Hammerhead begins killing the workers on the island and tracking down King's "guests" until he is eventually recaptured by King's remaining workers. King's men also capture Amelia, who King hopes his son will remember and mate with to create a half-human/half-shark offspring, as he is convinced that part of Paul is still human. King forces Amelia to watch as one of the doctors, Whitney Feder (
Arthur Roberts), is fed to Hammerhead. Amelia is then injected with a drug to calm her as King watches in hopes that Hammerhead will mate with her. However, instead of mating with Amelia, Hammerhead bites off his father's right arm. Tom arrives at the laboratory and rescues Amelia. He forces liquid nitrogen down Hammerhead's throat, causing him to explode. King attempts to shoot Amelia, but Tom shoots him dead. The building explodes as Amelia and Tom, the only two survivors, escape.
Cast
*
Hunter Tylo
Hunter Tylo (born Deborah Jo Hunter; July 3, 1962) is an American actress, author and former model. She is best known for her role as Taylor Hayes (The Bold and the Beautiful), Taylor Hayes (1990–2002, 2004–14, 2018–19) on ''The Bold and t ...
as Amelia Lockhart
*
William Forsythe as Tom Reed
*
Jeffrey Combs as Dr. Preston King
* Anton Argirov as Paul King / Hammerhead
* Elise Muller as Jane Harper
* Mariya Ignatova as Julie
* Lydie Denier as Dr. Katie Medevenko
* Arthur Roberts as Whitney Feder
* G.R. Johnson as Bernie Amos
* Velizar Binev as Dr. Krause
* Atanas Srebrev as Erik Anderson
*
Raicho Vasilev
Raicho Vasilev ( bg, Райчо Василев) is a Bulgarian stunt/actor best known for his role Gladiator Gnaeus on the TV series '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand'' and its prequel '' Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.''
Biography
Raicho started h ...
as Guard #2
Release
Home media
''Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy'' was first released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
on October 11, 2005 by
First Look Pictures
First Look Studios was a former American independent film distributor, that specialized in home video releases of films and television series.
History
In 1980, Robert and Ellen Little founded Overseas Filmgroup as a film sales company for forei ...
. First Look Pictures later re-released the film on DVD in 2009 as a part of a 2-disk
double feature
The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.
Opera use
Opera ho ...
along with ''
Blue Demon''.
Reception
Jon Condit from ''
Dread Central
Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...
'' awarded the film a negative score of 2/5. In his review, Condit wrote, "''Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy'' has most of the usual problems movies of this type have – clichéd plot, subplots, supporting characters, and minor details that are introduced but never really followed through on, dull protagonists, illogical science, a monster that somehow manages to always be at just the right place at the right time, inconsistent special effects, etc. All of this would be easier to overlook if the movie gave us the killer landshark action we’re watching the movie for. We do get it but only in quick bursts that fail to fully satisfy."
''Popcorn Pictures.com'' awarded the film a score of 4/10, writing, "''Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy'' is a mixed bag. You have a preposterously-plotted but perfectly watchable B-movie which, sadly, is let down by a number of clichés and a sense of being too self-conscious to embrace its ridiculousness and go all-out. Not enough of the titular character hurts matters greatly too."
''Horror.net'' awarded the film a mixed 5 out of 10 stars, calling it "A good, goofy B-monster movie."
Christopher Armstead from ''Film Critics United'' gave the film a negative review, criticizing the film's acting, and the title monster's lack of screen time.
See also
*
List of killer shark films
Natural horror is a subgenre of horror films that features natural forces, typically in the form of animals or plants, that pose a threat to human characters.
Though killer animals in film have existed since the release of ''The Lost World'' in 1 ...
*
List of Sci Fi Pictures original films
* ''
Skeleton Man
''Skeleton Man'' is a 2004 made-for-tv slasher film directed by Johnny Martin and starring Michael Rooker and Casper Van Dien. It was aired from Sci Fi Channel on March 1, 2004. In the film, the titular Skeleton Man stalks a squad of soldiers.
P ...
'', a 2004 Sci Fi original film
* ''
Mosquito Man'', a 2005 Sci Fi original film
*
''Snakeman'' (film), a 2005 Sci Fi original film
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Portal bar, Sharks, Speculative fiction/Horror, Science fiction
2005 films
2005 horror films
2005 television films
American monster movies
Fictional sharks
Films about sharks
Films about shark attacks
Films set on islands
Mad scientist films
2000s monster movies
American natural horror films
Nu Image films
Syfy original films
Films set in Oceania
Films directed by Michael Oblowitz
2000s English-language films
Films produced by Boaz Davidson
Films with screenplays by Boaz Davidson
2000s American films