The Reel Review
A devastating Category 5 hurricane slams into the South Carolina coast, its massive storm surge carrying hungry bull sharks and an enormous great white shark into a flooded, small coastal town where they begin a feeding frenzy on its residents who didn’t evacuate the storm. Phoebe Dynevor, Djimon Hounsou and Whitney Peak (Gossip Girl, Hocus Pocus 2) star in this horror/thriller.
As brainless shark creature features go, Thrash is more knockoff of the 2019 alligator thriller Crawl, with a touch of the ridiculous 2013 sci-fi/comedy Sharknado, than anything even remotely resembling the iconic 1975 classic Jaws. Fresh off the heels of Bridgerton and the 2025 anti-fascism political thriller Anniversary, a very game Dynevor gives it her all as the heavily pregnant Lisa, who is finding herself in one hysterically impossible moment after another, all while going into labor. Hounsou is equally committed despite his shark hunter character being a total throwaway. Peak’s Dakota experiences a jarring pivot in minutes from useless sobbing mess to badass warrior.
The storm surge and shark effects from writer/director Tommy Wirkola (the Dead Snow films, What Happened to Monday?) are surprisingly well done with lots of gruesome kills for gore aficionados, but the predictable plot (you can easily guess who will and won’t survive within the film’s first 10 minutes) leaves a lot to be desired. Even so, with a mercilessly short runtime of an hour and 26 minutes, Thrash at least doesn’t overstay its welcome for those in the mood for a silly shark thriller.
REEL FACTS
• Writer/director Tommy Wirkola used practical effects for shark closeups and CGI for more complex shark attacks and high-speed movements.
• Originally Sony Pictures planned to release Thrash in theaters before selling the film to Netflix.
• Although set in coastal South Carolina, Thrash was filmed in Melbourne, Australia.
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