Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda

This film is another terrible creature feature from the ScFy Network. No one should be surprised by its low quality. Roger Corman is a master of lousy science fiction and this is no exception. A half-Shark, half-Octopus does battle with a half-Pterdactyl, half-Barracuda. It has all the expected elements, half-hearted acting by the stars, hammy extras, and lousy special effects. Of course, the creatures snack on the extras and destroy a few boats before the inevitable battle between them takes place. Coreman has described the schedule as "grueling." That also accurately describes sitting through this whole movie. What took so long? It's no better than the no-budget quickies that this resembles.

From "Sharktopus" (2010), the half-shark / half-octopus has returned. In the opening, the monster is seen eating water-sports fans. Meanwhile, a "Pteracuda" has been created by mad scientist Robert Carradine (as Rico Symes). This prehistoric half-pterodactyl / half-barracuda creature is also seen eating people. Through the miracle of editing, the Sharktopus turns out to be the little baby we see being discovered by "Munoz Del Mar" aquarium worker Katie Savoy (as Lorena Christmas). The little bugger grows up quickly and gets loose. The two monsters eventually have a battle. Very handsome Rib Hillis (as Hamm) has a plan to get rid of both monsters and save the world. He rubs Ms. Savoy the wrong way, at first, but they eventually get together. She's not only very pretty, but also has a very winning screen presence. Best line, "I'm going to have this creature eating out of the palm of my hand!" TV talk show host Conan O'Brien has a cameo. If you've seen Alice Cooper and others in Syfy TV Movie cameos, you've seen the act.

*** Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda (8/2/14) Kevin O'Neill ~ Katie Savoy, Rib Hillis, Robert Carradine, Tony Evangelista

You thought that the sky would save you from the Sharktopus? Apart from the fact that one of its tentacles would probably just grab anything out of the sky no matter how high it is, you have a new flying threat in this sequel, the Pteracuda. And yes it is exactly what the name suggests.

This new creature might not be as absurd and fun as the Sharktopus itself but it surely manages to provide some funny scenes for the movie and the fights between these two creatures were "great". The first Sharktopus movie was an absolutely terrible piece of cinema that was still able to absolutely entertain with lots of beer and a couple of friends. It was a bad movie and everyone involved knew it and that was its strength because they absolutely went for the full trash factor and absurdity. This sequel is similarly bad but it's less iconic in my opinion. Sure the acting is atrocious and the effects are terrible but I still had some fun with this and if you ever wanted to see some people playing volleyball with Conan O'Brien's head then this movie will serve. [3,9/10]

I will just start off with saying that if you enjoyed the first "Sharktopus" movie, then you will also enjoy this one. Or if you enjoy these cheesy monstrous predator movies, then chances are you will find some entertainment in "Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda".

The storyline is essentially the same as it always is in these particular type of movies; a scientist of sorts have created a monstrous species of hybrid by mixing two species of predators. And as luck will have it, what they thought they could control runs amok and starts killing people.

The first "Sharktopus" movie was campy and cheesy, and "Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda" is right up alongside with it. And this is the type of movie that you just sit back, laugh at and enjoy for what it is; senseless storyline and b-movie entertainment.

And apparently there is another "Sharktopus" movie on the way.

Anyway, I wonder who sits at the drawing boards and comes up with these ideas. I mean a half shark and half octopus, at least that makes sense in some bizarre way. But a half pterodactyl and half barracuda. Why? It is just so stupid.

As with the first movie, you know exactly what you get here. A silly storyline with questionable CGI effects. And to top it off, the creatures make these really awful screeching noises.

The acting in the movie was as to be expected for a movie of this type.

"Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda" scores a 3 out of 10 stars, just as I rated the first "Sharktopus" movie.

Sharktopus was not a great, or even good, movie but it was reasonably fun to watch. The photography is pretty decent, Katie Savoy is a winning presence and the scenery is lovely, other than that Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda fails on all levels and is far too inept to pass for a fun B-movie. The special effects are very cartoonish and look so fake against the background, while the Sharktopus is goofy-looking the Pteracuda fares worse, the dinosaur skeletons in the Natural History Museum's dinosaur exhibition are far more convincing. Neither of them show any personality or menace whatsoever(not unexpected, there's already a long line of personality-less SyFy creatures) other than repeatedly attacking people and each other, only when the Pteracuda slaps Sharktopus do we see any glimmer of a personality, and if Sharktopus was meant to be smart that trait is literally non-existent. The attacks are far too gimmicky, are too predictable to be tense and too cheesy to be fun. The dialogue is so inane it makes the toes curl, anything the American tourist couple say is particularly embarrassing, and the story even for a movie that shouldn't be taken seriously is ridiculousness taken to extremes at the sacrifice of suspense, and because it doesn't do anything with the already over-familiar concept it is extremely predictable as well. The ending felt anti-climatic and abrupt and because things and themes are barely developed and what should make a creature feature work being absent the pacing quickly loses steam and the movie loses interest long before it finishes. The characters are personality-and-development-free, Ham being especially bland. Other than Savoy the acting doesn't work. Robert Carradine's performance consists of either chewing the scenery or being indifferent, on paper it was ideal for him but the performance itself is all over the place. Rib Hillis is disadvantaged by his character being so bland and he sleepwalks his way through his performance, while Conan O'Brien's cameo was just bizarre and felt really tacked on. But the worst acting came from the American tourist couple, their parts are so overacted that they somehow make their already annoying characters even more so. The direction is not incompetent as such but it is very flat and could have been more playful if the execution of the rest of the movie was better. All in all, has two or three things that work a little but Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda is messy stupidity from start to finish. 2/10 Bethany Cox