Dinoshark
+ Sharktopus (Anchor Bay Blu-rays) +
Behemoth (2009 - 2010/Vivendi DVD)
Picture: B-/C+/C Sound: C Extras: C/C/D Telefilms: C-
Here we have a trio of productions fresh from their SyFy Channel premieres: Dinoshark and Sharktopus, which come from Roger Corman's New Horizons Pictures,
and Behemoth - part of the Maneater Series from Vivendi
Entertainment. Yes, giant monsters are
back.
In order for features like this to continue to exist, someone must be tuning
in... but who? These are one-note
monster movies, typical of the kind of stuff that forms the backbone of the
channel's original programming. While
not the absolute worst TV movies (or telefilms) I've ever seen, there's
absolutely nothing new brought to the table. Even Sharktopus,
a movie that was intended to be humorously over the top, is little more than
run of the mill.
Sure,
I've occasionally devoted a couple minutes of my time when crossing paths with
similar titles while flipping through channels, but become tired of the typical
shenanigans rather quickly. Perhaps if
they were to revive the use of more traditional techniques in bringing these
creatures to the small screen I'd be more forgiving of the bad acting and
restrictive budgets. But seeing as I
just don't find the computer generated creatures that populate these films to
be all that compelling (or menacing, for that matter), changing to another
channel is all too tempting.
Picture
and sound are little more than average as well. All of the features here are presented in
1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, with the Dinoshark
and Sharktopus Blu-ray discs in
1080p high definition. The audio tracks
for all three features are in 5.1 channel Dolby, and the Blu-rays sporting
Dolby TrueHD.
Bonus
content is nonexistent for Behemoth,
but the other two films at least have commentary tracks with producer Roger
Corman, as well as trailers. In all
honesty, these commentaries are the best reason to give a look at these discs,
and Corman fans may want to buy them for that reason alone.
Whether
it be a giant snake, shark, crocodile, alligator, or some mythical giant
beastie, if you've seen one movie with them, you've seen them all - these are
just more to add to the pile. However,
if that's your thing, you know what you're in for and there's absolutely no
reason not to give these titles a spin.
- David Milchick
