Frankenfish

I first saw this years back on Sony Pix tv channel. Revisited it recently. I like horror n action films set in the bayou n swamps, especially Lousiana.

This is not bad for a tv movie. It has plenty of gore n kills. Simon Barrett is the writer of this film n this film n Dead Birds were his initial foray into horror films. Later he wrote many horror films. But as the poster claims, from the director (Mark A.Z. Dippé) of Spawn. Well, Spawn is his only good effort before this n after Frakenfish he went downhill. But his experience in special effects is noteworthy n this film does boast of some cool effects.

Also the poster is a rip off of Anaconda n whatever has been shown on the poster of this film, nothing like that happens in the entire film. In fact the lead actor never removes his shirt.

The film is about a genetically enhanced snakehead fish. Basically a voracious fishzilla trying to topple the croc, alligator, shark n piranha genre films. There is scene where a *ucktard stands so close to an edge knowing that there is an aquatic predator lurking in the water. We have a bad ass Ricardo, a war veteran who manages to get the the giant fish outside water so that viewers may have a glimpse of it.

It has some tits, especially that of the hottie Noelle Evans (Elizabeth Shue lookalike). I think she retired. Checked her Instagram n found her to be happily married, enjoying her bike riding.

The only actors recognizable r Tomas Arana Mark Boone Jr.

Deep in the bayous of Louisiana, something is munching on the inhabitants of a small community of houseboats. A coroner and a biologist are sent to investigate, and discover that huge genetically engineered man-eating fish are responsible. Specially designed to be tracked by big-game hunters seeking the ultimate quarry, the fish are fast, vicious and intelligent. When the scaly terrors attack the boats and scupper the floating houses, the survivors think they are fish food; but help is at hand when the hunters arrive, armed to the teeth and hoping to bag a trophy or two...

Had the makers of Frankenfish planted their tongues much further into their cheeks and not taken proceedings quite so seriously, this movie may have been a fantastic addition to the monster genre; unfortunately, they refuse to accept the complete preposterousness of the premise and deliver an average movie when the result should have been so much more fun. It doesn't help that the fish themselves are, for the most part, badly rendered CGI. Loads of nifty gore and a few tasty babes (China Chow and K.D. Aubert provide the main eye candy for the blokes) help to compensate somewhat, but Frankenfish ultimately fails to match the genius of its wonderfully camp title.

I give this film 5 out of 10, plus a bonus point for the impressive amount of blood and guts on display.

To my surprise, this actually turned out to be a rather amusing B-Movie. The characters, handsome cop, brainy female scientist, unpleasant young lawyer, taciturn Vietnam vet (how many Vietnam vets in the movies are ever eloquent conversationalists?) and superstitious Voodoo lady are so much cut-out cardboard, but the actors make the best with what they have to work with. Even the fish look like they are enjoying themselves.

There is the odd witty line, some great low-key action sequences and the Frankenfish themselves are great - chewing up most of the cast with great gusto and not without some excellent black humour.

There are some genuine surprises and a couple of unexpected deaths amid the usual B-Movie clichés. There's plenty of gore and plenty of fun. Not a bad way to spend an idle hour or so.

I was not expecting to even like Frankenfish, but I did. The story is ridiculous on the whole, in the script there is a sea of corniness and eye-rolling cheesiness amid the odd sprinkle of wit, the characters are on the annoying stereotypical side and some of the effects are cheap. Despite all this, I did enjoy Frankenfish. The editing was not as choppy as I had anticipated and some of the locations are great. There is enough suspense and tense fun to make up for the ridiculousness of the story, the fish although not great in design(though I have seen far worse) are menacing and great to watch and while the lead is uncharismatic the acting is reasonably good. On the whole, not great, but I sort of liked it. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Something big and nasty is hanging out in the Bayou, so baaad it can bite a gator to pieces. Could it possibly be a scientific experiment gone awry? Might it possibly threaten a group of people trapped in the middle of nowhere? Is it conceivable that the above group would be offed one by one? In various bloody circumstances? Would you believe the hero and his babe will somehow survive? Is there any way a rich evil middle-aged white male might be responsible? Is there anything in this movie you haven't seen before? the fish are pretty well done, but too high a body count (and too much foul language) for me. Think of Deep Rising with a smaller budget. If you like that sort of thing--enjoy.