Bait (2012)

Directed by: Kimble Rendall | 91 minutes | action, horror, thriller | Actors: Phoebe Tonkin, Xavier Samuel, Julian McMahon, Sharni Vinson, Cariba Heine, Alex Russell, Lincoln Lewis, Alice Parkinson, Dan Wyllie, Richart Brancatisano, Damien Garvey, Martin Sacks, Nicholas McCallum, Adrian Pang, Yuwu Qi, Chris Betts, Skye Fellman, Miranda Deakin, Simon Edds, Rhiannon Dannielle Pettett

You would say you’ve had the worst when you survive a gigantic, devastating tsunami. Well forget it, for the protagonists of the Australian film ‘Bait’ the misery really starts after that. After surviving a tsunami that completely out of the blue surprised the inhabitants of the Australian coastal town, they find themselves locked in the supermarket they were in at the time of the tsunami. Problem is, however, they are not the only ones in this store. They soon find out that they are accompanied by a great white shark, the largest and also one of the most dangerous of its kind.

This rather far-fetched plot forms the basis of the story of ‘Bait’. As might be expected, the story isn’t too much. The protagonist of ‘Bait’ is Josh (Xavier Samuel). He used to be engaged to Tina (Sharni Vinson), as the short introduction shows. However, after Tina’s brother was killed by a shark, the two couldn’t cope with this loss and grew apart. Coincidentally, they meet again in the supermarket. Together with a dozen other people, they are locked up after the great flood. The location is almost completely flooded and it will be quite a challenge to get out.

Explaining the other characters is actually rather superfluous, given the enormous superficiality of the characters. For example, in addition to the old love between Tina and Josh, a number of simple relationships are incorporated. Such as the one between a father and his daughter who have also had bad contact for years and ‘coincidentally’ are both in the store at the time of the disaster. Not to mention the bickering couple Heather (Cariba Heine) and Kyle (Lincoln Lewis), who are locked in their car but, despite this dire situation, are busier discussing their mutual frustrations about their relationship. Now you don’t have to expect much from the dialogues anyway. The low point in this area is a conversation between Tina and the also young Jaimie (Phoebe Tonkin), in which the latter presents a rather strange logic that must explain why God has caused them both to end up in this hopeless situation.

The above criticisms would be a lot less disturbing if ‘Bait’ would treat the viewer to the necessary action. And admittedly, there are certainly a number of scenes in which the blood flows nicely. For the enthusiasts it is nice to know that not all bodies remain intact. Still, these scenes are generally quite well-behaved and never really let go of the brakes. The special effects and 3D effects are also not really convincing. In addition, the action is not often present. No one would have regretted it if the makers had removed a number of superfluous dialogues in favor of a little more spectacle. Even fans of the shark genre have to admit that the end result is nothing to write home about. ‘Bait’ unfortunately fails to shake off the inevitable image of a B-movie.