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Shark Night
View on Wikipedia| Shark Night | |
|---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | David R. Ellis |
| Written by | Will Hayes Jesse Studenberg |
| Produced by | Chris Briggs Mike Fleiss Lynette Howell |
| Starring | Sara Paxton Dustin Milligan Chris Carmack Katharine McPhee Donal Logue Joshua Leonard Joel David Moore |
| Cinematography | Gary Capo |
| Edited by | Dennis Virkler |
| Music by | Graeme Revell |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Rogue |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25 million[1] |
| Box office | $41.4 million[1] |
Shark Night (advertised as Shark Night 3D) is a 2011 American horror film directed by David R. Ellis and written by Will Hayes and Jesse Studenberg. It stars Sara Paxton, Chris Carmack, Katharine McPhee, Alyssa Diaz, Dustin Milligan, and Joel David Moore. The film, which was negatively received by critics and grossed $40 million worldwide, was released in RealD 3D and Digital 3D. This was Ellis's final film before his death.[2]
Plot
[edit]Jess goes for a swim in the lake. Her boyfriend scares her and takes her bra off. He leaves and she goes to retrieve it. She is then attacked and devoured by a shark.
At Tulane University, Gordon and Nick are in their dorm when Malik bursts in. Malik tells them that he got a B+ on an exam and that they are going to Sara Palski’s house for the weekend to celebrate. As the three walk out, Malik says he is going to marry his girlfriend Maya. Maya pulls up in a car with Beth. Blake and Sara arrive. The kids drive toward the lake and stop at a bait shop. They meet Dennis Crim and Red. The seven college kids drive toward the lake until Sheriff Sabin appears. Malik, Maya, Nick, and Blake take the boat out to go water skiing. Malik is attacked by a shark and loses his arm. Maya, Nick, and Sara take him in the boat to the hospital. Malik is still bleeding from his arm. It bleeds into a hole in the boat, leaking blood into the water. A shark bumps the boat and devours Maya. The other three are forced to jump off the boat as the steering and brakes stop working.
By night, Red and Dennis appear and offer to take two people to the hospital. Beth and Gordon decide to go. While on the way Dennis explains that he and Red put the sharks in the lake. He then shoots Gordon in the arm. Gordon swims towards a tree and climbs it but is caught by a shark. Beth gets thrown into a net and gets attacked and killed by a pack of cookiecutter sharks.
Blake tells Malik that Maya is dead and in a burst of rage, Malik tries to kill the shark responsible. Nick notices a camera attached to the shark. Blake tells the others he is taking Malik to a hospital on Sarah’s WaveRunner. As they drive toward the hospital, Malik sees a Great White Shark following them. He sacrifices himself and is killed. As Blake tries to escape, the shark jumps out of the water and decapitates him.
Sheriff Sabin arrives at the house, where he notices the dead shark on the shore. He radios for backup. Nick passes out, knocking over a container of chicken noodle soup that the sheriff had. Sherman, the dog eats it. Sara overhears on the radio about Beth’s death. She and Nick are kidnapped by Dennis and the sheriff.
Nick wakes up tied to a chair. He panics as the sheriff explains that Sabin, Red, Dennis, and a bait store clerk were heavily influenced by Shark Week. They decided to record people getting brutally devoured by sharks. Sabin cuts Nick’s leg and spills gasoline. Nick uses his lighter to burn the rope to free himself. He then throws it at the sheriff who catches on fire. The sheriff falls into the lake and is devoured by a Sand Tiger Shark.
On the boat, Dennis chops up fish and dumps the blood and guts all over Sara who is in a shark cage. Nick jumps aboard with a dart gun aimed at Red’s head as he demands that Dennis bring Sarah back up. Dennis agrees, but then pulls out a knife and throws it, hitting Red in the heart. Nick throws the body overboard. Dennis and Nick fight. Nick knocks Dennis into the water and brings Sarah up out of the water. Dennis grabs a lever and pulls it re-submerging the cage.
The two start to fight again and a shark appears. Dennis gets his leg tangled up in the rope attached to the cage and is eaten. Nick dives down to retrieve a weapon from the ship and kills the sharks. Nick and Sara make it back to the boat along with the dog.
Cast
[edit]- Sara Paxton as Sara Palski
- Dustin Milligan as Nick LaDuca
- Chris Carmack as Dennis Crim
- Katharine McPhee as Beth Mazza
- Joel David Moore as Gordon Guthrie
- Donal Logue as Sheriff Greg Sabin
- Joshua Leonard as Red
- Sinqua Walls as Malik Henry
- Alyssa Diaz as Maya Valdez
- Chris Zylka as Blake Hammond
- Jimmy Lee Jr. as Carl
- Damon Lipari as Keith
- Christine Quinn as Jess
- Kelly Sry as Wonsuk
- Tyler Bryan as Kyle
Production
[edit]Principal photography took place in the fall of 2010 in Louisiana around the Ark-La-Tex and at Caddo Lake in Uncertain, Texas.[3]
The sharks featured in the film were animatronic sharks built by Edge Innovations, who previously built sharks for movies such as Deep Blue Sea, Austin Powers in Goldmember, and even the Orca in Free Willy. According to Walt Conti, the head of Edge Innovations, two models for each shark were built, one "attacker" and one "swimmer", each of which required very different internal mechanisms. "Sharks are this total contrast of stealthy, cruising lurking and these intense bursts of power," Conti says. "We split those two behaviors into two different types of models, and optimized each to do one of those things best."[4]
Although the movie was always going to be titled Shark Night 3D overseas, Ellis fought for a name change for the North American release, at one point wanting to release the film under the title Untitled Shark Thriller 3D.[5] Bloody Disgusting would later compare the proposed title of the film to Ellis's previous film Snakes on a Plane (2006).[6]
"In the End" by Fade is the theme song for the Japanese version.[7]
Reception
[edit]This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (June 2015) |
Shark Night received negative reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports that the film holds a 19% approval rating from 75 critics, with an average score of 3.42/10. The critics consensus reads, "A joyless excursion into the water that doesn't even produce good gore or nudity thanks to the neutered PG-13 rating."[8] The film has a weighted average score of 22 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Shark Night 3D (2011)". Box Office Mojo. 2011-11-24. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
- ^ "David R Ellis, director of Snakes on a Plane, dies". BBC News. 2013-01-08. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
- ^ Roy, Carolyn (June 24, 2011). "Filmed in Hollywood South: Shark Night 3D trailer released". KSLA. Raycom Media. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
- ^ "Shark Night's FX Blows Jaws Out of the Water". 2 September 2011.
- ^ Broddeser-Akner, Claude (8 February 2011). "Snakes on a Plane Director Fighting to Call His Next Film Untitled 3D Shark Thriller". Vulture. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ^ "'Shark Night 3D' Could Be Titled 'Untitled 3D Shark Thriller'?!". Bloody Disgusting. February 8, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- ^ "『シャーク・ナイト』×ロックバンドfadeがタッグを組んだTVスポット公開! | チケットぴあ[映画 洋画]".
- ^ "Shark Night 3D". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
- ^ "Shark Night 3D". Metacritic. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
External links
[edit]Shark Night
View on GrokipediaNarrative elements
Plot
The film opens with Jess, a young woman, swimming in Lake Crosby at night. She is startled by her boyfriend and pulled underwater by a thresher shark, which devours her off-screen.[1] A group of seven college friends from Tulane University—Sara, her ex-boyfriend Nick, his best friend Malik and Malik's fiancée Maya, Malik's teammate Blake, geeky Gordon, and aspiring singer Beth—arrive at Sara's family's remote lake house on Lake Crosby in Louisiana for a weekend of relaxation and partying.[5] The serene freshwater setting quickly turns horrific when, during a water-skiing outing, Malik is suddenly pulled underwater by an unseen predator and emerges minus his right arm, severely injured by what appears to be a shark attack.[6] As Nick, a pre-med student, amputates the wound to stop the bleeding and the group rushes to get Malik medical help, tension escalates with their cell phones out of service and the realization that sharks—unusual for freshwater—lurk in the lake.[5] In their haste to escape via Sara's speedboat, Maya is knocked overboard amid another shark assault, where she is viciously attacked and devoured by a bull shark, her body torn apart in the chaos.[7] The survivors discover a waterproof camera lodged in the gills of a beached hammerhead shark, hinting at human involvement. Seeking aid, they encounter three locals: the disfigured boat mechanic Dennis, his crude partner Red, and the seemingly helpful Sheriff Greg Sabin. As attacks intensify, the group uncovers that the trio has deliberately introduced over a dozen shark species—including great whites, hammerheads, bull sharks, makos, tigers, and even schools of cookie-cutter sharks—into the isolated lake by dumping them from the Gulf of Mexico.[5] The antagonists' twisted motive is to capture authentic death footage on video for upload to the internet, seeking viral fame akin to Shark Week specials and shock sites like Faces of Death, profiting from the gruesome content.[8] The nightmare unfolds with a series of brutal killings: Gordon is forced into the water at gunpoint, shot in the chest by Dennis, and then mauled and dragged away by a bull shark.[7] Beth, after stabbing Red in self-defense, is overpowered and thrown into a net teeming with cookie-cutter sharks, where the small but voracious fish strip her flesh in a prolonged, agonizing death by drowning and disfigurement.[9] Malik and Blake attempt to flee on a jet ski, but Malik heroically sacrifices himself by jumping into the path of a pursuing mako shark to save his friend, only to be dragged underwater and devoured. Blake is then plucked from the jet ski by a massive great white shark, which bites off his head in a fatal strike, his body impaled and left dangling on the dock wreckage.[9] In the climax, the remaining survivors—Sara and Nick—confront the locals in a desperate showdown at an old dock and boathouse. Nick sets Sheriff Sabin ablaze with a makeshift firebomb, causing the corrupt lawman to fall into a flooded area swarming with tiger sharks that tear him apart.[9] Red is betrayed and stabbed in the chest by his partner Dennis before drowning, while Dennis handcuffs Sara to a shark cage and lowers her toward the water; she breaks free and uses the setup against him, resulting in the great white shark ripping Dennis in half. Nick finishes off the great white with a spear gun loaded with an explosive powerhead. The duo, along with Sara's loyal dog Sherman, escapes the carnage on an airboat, finally reaching safety as dawn breaks.[8] The film's 3D format heightens the visceral impact of the underwater attack sequences.[5]Cast and characters
The film Shark Night (2011) assembles an ensemble of primarily young actors to depict a tight-knit group of college friends whose diverse personalities create interpersonal friction during their lakeside retreat, contrasted against antagonistic locals who introduce external threats. This casting choice emphasizes relatable youth dynamics in a horror context, with characters ranging from intellectuals to athletes fostering both camaraderie and conflict without relying on established stars.[10]| Actor | Character | Role and Traits |
|---|---|---|
| Sara Paxton | Sara Palski | The protagonist, a resourceful college student from Tulane University who hosts her friends at her family's remote lake house in Louisiana, serving as the emotional center of the group.[11] |
| Dustin Milligan | Nick LaDuca | Sara's thoughtful ex-boyfriend and pre-med student, acting as the group's rational, intellectual anchor with a focus on problem-solving.[11] |
| Chris Zylka | Blake Hammond | Sara's bold, athletic new boyfriend, characterized by his cocky demeanor and competitive spirit that often clashes with others in the ensemble.[11] |
| Katharine McPhee | Beth Mazza | Sara's loyal but insecure friend, marked by personal vulnerabilities like asthma that underscore her emotional fragility within the friendships.[11] |
| Alyssa Diaz | Maya | Malik's fiancée and Sara's vibrant, outgoing friend, bringing enthusiasm for boating and a positive energy to the group's interactions.[11] |
| Joel David Moore | Gordon | The quirky, tech-savvy nerd of the bunch, providing comic relief through his gadget-oriented hobbies and lighthearted banter.[11] |
| Sinqua Walls | Malik | The athletic, water-loving member of the group, contributing physical prowess and a love for sports that amplifies the weekend's recreational vibe.[11] |

