Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, out now

The genetically modified sharks that escaped at the end of Deep Blue Sea 2 are heading for a remote island…

What do we want from a giant shark movie? If we’re honest, a lot of the time it’s the scenes of human vs shark, with the odds on the latter to win. The Deep Blue Sea franchise certainly provides plenty of that – I can still recall sitting in the press screening of the original and the number of people (myself included) who jumped when Samuel L. Jackson met his fate. There’s a few such jump scares in this latest addition to the cycle, and a number of times when director John Pogue plays with the audience expectations. (There’s also the odd moment when the sharks simply don’t look quite right and pull you out of the film, but they’re thankfully rare.)

You don’t need to have seen either of the two earlier films for this three-quel to be effective – the links between them are between the non-dialogue-speaking members of the cast. Pogue takes his time to set the scene on the island scientific community of Little Happy, before the arrival of the bull sharks, and the marine biologists tracking them, but once the newcomers show their true colours, there’s plenty of action.

Tania Raymonde, Nathaniel Buzolic, Emerson Brooks and Bren Foster lead the cast, playing it absolutely straight and very sensibly, Pogue keeps the film to around 100 minutes, which allows time for the tension to ratchet up and then release violently.

The DVD release includes some B-roll footage that’s worth a look to see just how far from civilisation the production was – or, indeed, wasn’t!

Verdict: Tense and enjoyable – a good addition to the Deep Blue Sea canon. 7/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to read our interview with Bren Foster about Deep Blue Sea 3.

Deep Blue Sea 3 is out now on DVD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment