Starring: Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak, and Djimon Hounsou

Directed by Tommy Wirkola

Netflix

Annieville is a coastal US town bracing for the arrival of Category 5 hurricane, Henry. It’s not going well. Dakota (Whitney Peak) is barely able to leave the house due to her agoraphobia and Lisa (Phoebe Dynevor) is heavily pregnant and caught in town just as the weather hits. Meanwhile, on the edge of town Dee (Alia Browne), Ron (Stacy Clausen) and Will (Dante Ubaldi) struggle to convince their complacent foster parents that they need to leave. Things are bad already, but when the sea wall breaks and a truck of animal blood spills, the town is filled with water and hungry sharks…

A spiritual colleague of the excellent Under Paris, Wirkola brings a welcome social conscience to the ‘sharks murdering people’ sub-genre. It’s always a good combination, and here it works especially well in the back half. It’s not that the movie doesn’t take itself seriously, or too seriously even. It’s that what Wirkola has actually mapped the emotional trajectory of his characters onto the movie. In the first half everyone’s under pressure and reacting. In the second, everyone fights back.

It’s a smart choice especially for the three kids who never meet the other characters and are basically in a movie of their own. The way their personal drama unfolds, and the images of sharks in their home and water climbing the windows are among the movies’ best. All three actors impress too, especially Clausen as Ron, who has a strong future as a hard-pressed blue collar hero. I’d honestly love to see the kids back too, a possible sequel featuring them would be really fun.

Dynevor and Peak impress too, and there’s some nicely handled character surprises. Both play women forced to rise to the occasion faster than the flood waters do and both are likable presences it’s easy to cheer on. Peak has a sweet relationship with Djimon Hounsou as her uncle. Hounsou is one of the best actors served worst by so many projects but here he’s given a bunch to do and it’s all great fun. As the hard-pressed scientist riding to the rescue he brings natural authority and a cheerfully self-aware lack of emotional intelligence that makes Doctor Dale Edwards a standout in a movie full of them.

Better still that second act cooks off in the best of ways, with everyone facing off against sharks and everyone getting a moment of victory. There’s a wry sense of humour too, especially with Adam Dunn as Greg, the hard-pressed harbourmaster and an elegant shout out to Jurassic Park.

Verdict: Fun, tense, horrific and with so many teeth, Thrash is top notch B-movie fun. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart