When it comes to bad SyFy Originals, 2-Headed Shark Attack is royalty. The early 2010s were truly a special time.
Like all good movies, the plot is exactly what it says on the tin. There is a massive two-headed shark that attacks about 30 different people. This might just be the highest body count that we've gotten so far.
While most of the kills are solely CGI, there are times where they are clearly using a physical prop instead. I wish that we got a clear view of it. Instead, it's shoved to the side of the screen and/or covered with either a red, strobing blood effect that looked really bad, or a flurry of CGI bubbles. I'm not sure why they decided to do that, because I managed to find a picture of the animatronic online and it looked really cool!
Oh well. For what its worth, the CGI was decent enough. There was a lot of it too. This is not a movie that skimps on the shark. You see it early and often. Almost every kill is accompanied by footage of the shark actually eating them. There are no off-screen, plucked under the water never to be seen again deaths here. And yes, the shark does use both heads to tear someone apart. I'd be sorely disappointed otherwise.
The characters are over the top stereotypes. This should surprise literally no one. As annoying as they could be, at least it made them distinct. We have a very large cast, but I could still tell everyone apart from each other. Please note that this doesn't mean that I actually liked anyone. I did not. At all. But they were distinct and unique, and that's more rare than it should be.
There was also a degree of internal consistency and logic that I appreciated. Well, at least when it came to the shark itself. When it came to other things, you just kind of need to shake your head and roll your eyes and go with it.
Like the specific ship that they used for the Semester at Sea. Those usually take place on cruise ships, not on small fishing vessels. Also, Final Girl Kate has literally every skill that the plot requires, including underwater welding. Despite the fact that she hadn't been in the water since she was in fifth grade. Yeah, there's a "tragic" backstory there involving a blue shark sighting. Not an attack, mind you. Just a sighting.
Some of this is budgetary. The script obviously called for something over the top, and the director made the best of it. A lot of the big action pieces very clearly not nearly as big as they should be. Also characters are very clearly standing in water that is far too shallow for the shark to actually swim in, nevermind for it to be completely invisible underwater.
This is an exceeding horny movie as well. Carmen Electra plays Dr. Anne Babish, but most of her early screentime has her acting and posing like she's on a photoshoot. There are two sequences that last over a minute each where the camera merely ogles her bikini-clad body.
This in addition to the topless threesome scene. The camera is very careful to capture the naked co-eds both above and below the water, even when they're being devoured by the shark.
Despite this, 2-Headed Shark Attack is still a must-watch for anyone who appreciates a good-bad SyFy movie. It's a classic for a reason.
Random Thoughts
According to my subtitles, the two crew members were speaking Tagalog.
Brooke Hogan, who plays Kate, is no stranger to the genre. She was also in Sand Sharks. Yes, it's a killer shark movie where the shark swims through sand.
There are four movies in the "Multi-Headed Shark Attack" series. I'm debating whether I should dedicate August to reviewing all of them. Thoughts?
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An Honest Fangirl loves video games, horror movies, and superheroes, and occasionally watches far too many shark movies.
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