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Released by: Independent Entertainment
Released on: February 19, 2013.
Director: Sam Qualiana
Cast: Sam Qualiana, C.J. Qualiana, Andrew Elias, Michael O'Hear, Jackey Hall, Kathy Murphy
Year: 2012
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The Movie:
Set in the already distant past of 1999, Snow Shark introduces us to Professor Hoffman (Michael O'Hear) who, while out with a small crew of students, discovers the gory remains of a deer. In the name of science, he and his students begin to investigate the cadaver, the body marred by giant teeth that don't appear to belong to anything indigenous to the woods in which they are cavorting. And as luck would have it, they don't - the teeth marks instead belong to a massive prehistoric shark frozen in the area for centuries and only recently thawed, now with the ability to swim through snow and eat anything in its path.
Fast forward to 2012, or somewhere close to it, and that snow shark has resurfaced, this time chowing down on a pair of horny teenagers just in time for Christmas. The town's mayor realizes that this presence causes a pretty serious problem for his town and so he calls in the sheriff (C.J. Qualiana). The townsfolk refuse to believe that there is a snow shark in the area, content to believe that the deaths were caused by a rogue bear or something similarly less threatening, but a man with a toque named Mike (Sam Qualiana) knows what's really going on - and he'll bring it in for the mayor - the head, the tail, the whole damn thing - while the bodies of the townsfolk start to pile up…
Sam Qualiana, who starred in the musical horror comedy Pork Chop II: The Rise Of The Rind, directs and stars in this screwy low budget gore film that puts entertainment value first and logic in a distant second. Where the movie lacks the budget to get things right, it compensates for with zany gore scenes, gratuitous nudity, and a strong sense of comedic timing. Not every joke works as well as the next but the scenes involving the goofy shark's fin cruising smoothly through the snow swept woods of the mid west make for a pretty amusing sight and when it comes time for the kill scenes, Qualiana is smart enough to go for the gore. Blood and body parts splatter in ridiculous amounts across serene white snow covered locations while a wonky looking maws its way through one unfortunate soul after another.
The acting isn't always first rate but all involved are obviously having a good time with the material which helps to make it considerably more watchable than it would be otherwise. At just under eighty minutes in length the movie doesn't overstay its welcome and it manages to throw in a few unexpected plot twists as its story unfolds. In short, if it's not perfect, Snow Shark is fun. A fine mix of low budget humor and gore done without the need for false pretense, a very 'in your face' picture that knows exactly what it wants to do (entertain) and sets out to do exactly that.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Snow Shark is presented in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen in a fairly erratic looking transfer. While most of the movie looks pretty clean there are shots here and there that show some mild to moderate compression issues. Once you remove that element the movie looks fine for the micro-budget feature that it is and the colors come across nicely here, particularly once those reds start splashing against the white snow outside in the sunlight.
The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is occasionally muddy and falls victim to some issues with improperly balanced levels here and there making certain scenes harder to understand than others. The score sounds good, but it occasionally buries the performers. A couple of minor synch issues pop up here and there too.
Extras are slim decent, starting with some basic menus and chapter stops and trailers for the feature and for a few other Independent Entertainment titles available now on DVD and a twenty-odd minute behind the scenes segment that focuses mostly on the effects work scene in the film and the camaraderie shared by cast and crew. What isn't covered in the documentary is covered in the commentary, a nice mix of information about the making of the feature and a decent look at what goes into completing a low budget feature like this. Additionally we get the original Snow Shark ten minute short film and two of Qualiana's short films (Something After Midnight and A Love Story) as well as a collection of moderately amusing outtakes from the feature attraction.
The Final Word:
If you couldn't figure it out on your own, Snow Shark isn't meant to be taken seriously and while indy horror comedy efforts have a tendency to sink rather than swim, this one actually turns out to be pretty damn fun. IE's DVD looks and sounds fine and includes a decent collection of supplements - if this at all sounds up your alley, definitely seek it out.
