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Australia
has a love-hate
relationship with sharks. They are equally feared and respected across
this
continent and often misunderstood to be a bigger threat to man than
they
actually pose. The new Australian film Bait
3D may just suffer the same judgment as their underwater
protagonists, but
not until you watch Bait 3D should
you make up your mind about this down under death fest.
Bait’s story is
simple and outrages all in one.
Boring, generic lifesaver Josh (Xavier Samuel) is having a bad day. He
has a
hangover, no acting ability, and is about to marry an over tanned rake
called
called Tina (played with the same intensity of a paper bag blowing in a
slow
breeze by Sharni Vinson). To top it off, he also has to watch his
fiancés
brother get eaten by a great white shark and keep his hair looking
perfect at
the same time. All of this proves too much for Tina, so she leaves to
pursue
her next groundbreaking role on whatever 3D Step
Up film is currently shooting. Josh retreats to a life of not
showering and
stacking shelves in the local supermarket. To great surprise, the
couple is
soon blissfully reunited when Tina returns with two new facial
expressions and
one new boyfriend. It is here we are introduced to the rest of our
cast. The
rest of the live bait are uninspired castoffs that include: cops and
robbers,
nerds and jocks, mean girls and basket cases. All this makes for a
perfect time
for a tidal wave to hit and trap the acting elite in the supermarket
with two
bloodthirsty great white sharks.
Anyone
who walks
into an Australian 3D shark movie called Bait
expecting quality needs their head checked. This film is stupid, gory
and
corny. The piece is given a generic setting to try and convince dim
American
audiences that it could be happening on their shores. This
approach doesn’t work and the mix of
accents only adds to the hilarity of the piece. The acting and script
is
terrible throughout and this leaves you waiting for the kills. Like any
good B-grade horror piece, the kills are the most important factor. They are
graphic,
funny and happen just often enough to keep you interested. The shark
work is
terrific with both CG and animatronic work being quite good for a
homegrown
piece. Not relying on CG was a wise directorial move and keeps gore on
screen
in a tangible way.
Bait 3D is
almost so bad it's D-Grade and this is
why it works. Steer clear if you don’t like Aussie cinema or B Grade
horror.
For those that do get a kick out of these two types of cinema, check it
out for
a laugh. The 3D effects in Bait are
good, but like all 3D films, mostly uninspired and done before. This
film will
work better after beers and a BBQ with friends this summer. Just don’t
go
swimming afterwards!
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