Sharkers

Brace yourself for a visually striking onslaught of wildly weird-world story telling. I love this directors' bold, provoking, no-holds-barred, take no prisoners approach to indie filmmaking. It's Sacha Baron Cohn meets Warhol meets Scorsese. It's wild. It's fun. It's in your face intoxicating and precisely what indie films should be. The story is interesting enough, but it's really the look that captivates with style on steroids. There's a wonderfully challenging British feel to the whole thing that had me thinking back to films like Trainspotting and How to Get Ahead in Advertising, it really is that cutting edge. Oh, did I fail to mention there are chainsaws and people who get in the way of them. What's not to like.

Thoroughly enjoyed this captivating, wonderfully silly film. Sharkers is low budget indie film making at it's very best; a fast paced, hallucinatory thrill ride.

With an incredible cast and some particularly memorable, unhinged performances from Neal Ward and Patrick Chamberlain, Sharkers follows jilted lover, Franky (played brilliantly by Niki Burton) on single night of increasingly absurd debauchery - incidentally the structure of this reminded me a little bit of my favourite kid's book, 'Fortunately', by Remy Charlip...but with a lot more ketamine) - building to a crescendo of blood and neon.

I literally have NO idea where to even start with this one, and depending on your tastes, that might be a very good thing. First, let me just say that this film is NUTS. The scenarios are are way beyond what most of us will ever see or experience, that's for sure. What starts off as a simple request for a little sexual adventure turns into a fever dream of drug-fueled debauchery and mania. The lead character, a rather dim people-pleaser finds himself in all manner of icky, tawdry, weird, and dangerous. The film is populated with unsavory characters who act out in ways that make complete sense or no sense at all, and let's just say the artificial blood budget must have been robust. So this is how I see this movie - you're at an underground rave. X and ketamine and cocaine is ubiquitous. Sweaty bodies writhing on the dance floor, sexual energy flows like Niagara Falls. And this movie plays on the big screen overlooking the club, inspiring guests to bring peak insanity to the festivities. And that's "Sharkers". Stuart Gordon would be proud.

The movie begins innocent enough with an interaction between the main character and his partner. Appears to be the beginning of a romantic movie. However, our protagonist takes a step backward which leads to the possible loss of his relationship and into the arms of unsavory characters. The movie starts to feel like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with the odd close-ups and camera movement that aid the story. The cinematographer uses light as a source to enrich the scenes, whether hot pink or orange, bright then sometimes unfocused to "confuse" the audience.

Then it moves into the realm of Clockwork Orange with psychopaths in full stride and the dismantling of the main protagonist's mind as he suffers through one train wreck after another. Definitely a movie if you like psychological mind games and worth a look.

I've never seen anything like this. So hilarious and unexpected, so many levels of humour to this. Great casting and I love the style of dialogue/performance. Haven't laughed like this in a long time, recommending to all my friends if I don't just watch it again with them!! Haha. Sharkers encapsulates the essence of multiple genres but was predominantly an hour and a half of laughter (with definitely many tense moments throughout). Takes you on a journey that is in no way predictable, I was still surprised again after a second watch. Will come back a third time mainly for the incredible dialogue, but also for the brilliant approach to gore/SFX :)