Have made no secret in the past of intensely disliking, and even outright hating a lot, a vast majority of SyFy's (near-universally maligned for good reason) output, though there is curiosity as to whether they are capable of making something good and compulsive about their output's badness. Admittedly, SyFy do have a small group of watchable films and the occasional (big emphasis on that word) above average one, unfortunately outweighed by the lacklustre at best and often dreadful films they churn out.
To my surprise, 'Nightmare Shark' was actually better than expected. It's not great, or even particularly good, but of the killer shark films seen recently it's easily one of the better ones and one of SyFy's more watchable efforts (both their killer shark films and overall). It did have an interesting idea, slightly daft but quite unique, and while the potential is not quite lived up to it's hardly completely wasted.
'Nightmare Shark' does have some creepiness and there is some suspense because the idea is more original than most shark films and it is not as goofy as others. Doing it while not taking things too seriously that it becomes dreary. It does have fun parts too that aren't as silly as one would think and more respectful of its audience than many SyFy efforts.
Effort was made in 'Nightmare Shark' and it does show in some more professional and more atmospheric photography and at times better standard of acting, showing enthusiasm but surprisingly not going overboard. Some eerie sound, the pace isn't dull and the shark has both menace and personality.
Granted, 'Nightmare Shark' does have a number of faults, many of which are evident in a lot of SyFy's efforts. The story is muddled often, structurally it's a bit jumpy and confused due to too many things left vague, unfinished or underexplored. The execution of the overall concept lacked clarity and if the pace slowed down and with a little longer more clarity and logic and less head-scratching confusion and weirdness would have been apparent.
SyFy has always failed in the writing even in their best films, that's still the case, still a lot of awkward sounding dialogue that is hard to take at face value. Would have liked more developed characters and ones that were easier to get behind, for all the actors' best valiant efforts the face-palming decisions and behaviours remain. The special effects are less than special and generally actually pretty laughable, and the film is not without some sloppy editing, some ridiculousness and moments of melodrama.
Overall, watchable compared to most killer shark films seen recently and SyFy's work in general but problematic. 5/10 Bethany Cox
