Megalodon (2018)

Directed by: James Thomas | 85 minutes | action, adventure | Actors: Michael Madsen, Dominic Pace, Caroline Harris, Ego Mikitas, Aimee Stolte, Scott C. Roe, Sébastien Charmant, Elizabeth J. Cron, Paulina Laurant

Hey, isn’t there a movie in the cinema about a mega-sized shark? Is it out on DVD already? The answer to the first question is yes. ‘The Meg’ is still on the big screen at the time of writing this review and in that film Jason Statham gets to compete against a fossil sea monster. To answer question two: this is not that movie! ‘Megalodon’ is a creation of The Asylum. This smart film company is reaping the benefits of popular films by shooting films at a murder rate that share virtually the same approach and title of famous blockbusters. In the past, this no budget studio made films like ‘Transmorphers’ (free to ‘transformers’), ‘Avengers Grimm’ (a thick reference to ‘Avengers’) and now it’s ‘The Meg’ turn.

In ‘Megalodon’, an American naval ship is attacked by a large shark. Point.

The Asylum pumps the most money into the sleeves of their direct-to-video productions, so that less well-informed consumers think they are buying a top film. Furthermore, the budget is stopped in one case B-star. In this case, the expired Michael Madsen (nowadays mainly known for his alcohol abuse) may show up. The other cast members are mainly extras. You should not see this film for the acting. But for what? To be honest, the above question is difficult to answer.

‘Megalodon’ is a boring pulp film full of boring acting, very bad and dated special effects from a smoking pentium computer and an unmotivated Madsen (who is only briefly on screen). Dialogues consist of repetitions (“Is that a shark?” – “Yes, that’s a shark!”) and the camera work consists of close-ups and swishing movements to create the feeling of threat. The scenes are also too long and poorly edited. After a spoken sentence, the camera stays on the actor for too long without anything happening. Even the compact running time of 85 minutes cannot prevent the running time of this film from feeling long.

This movie is definitely bad, but not bad enough to make you laugh. This is a lovelessly made pulp film that wants to knock some cash out of the pockets of unsuspecting consumers. Don’t fall for it!