Thrash is Netflix/Sony's hybrid offering: a disaster film with bull sharks, thus combining two of the most popular genres of the 1970s, though with a modern, Sharknado-meets-Crawl angle.
Written and directed by Tommy (Dead Snow I & II) Wirkola, Thrash depicts a hurricane that strikes a fictional, South Carolina town called Annieville. After the storm quells and amid the town's flooded structures, the sharks thrash their way in, as those left out in the open become their prey, ala the sailors of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. (Indeed, Jaws' Quint would have much to reflect upon regarding this scenario.)
The setup covers several characters and how they're impacted by the monstrous circumstances. We have Phoebe Dynevor's Lisa, a pregnant woman trapped in her car; Djimon (Aquaman/Shazam!) Hounsou's Dr. Dale Evans, a marine specialist expected to dissect the calamity's aftereffects; Whitney Peak's Dakota, Evans' agoraphobic niece; Matt Nable's Billy Olsen and Amy Matthews' Rachel, foster parents of Alyla Browne's Dee, Stacy Coulson's Ron and Dante Ubaldi's Will.
Each draws consideration and concern, with none ever being so obnoxious that viewers will cheer their demise. (Okay, maybe there are a couple, but their rough behavior is somewhat understandable, if not forgiven, considering what befalls them.) On the other hand, since these folks are designed to be identifiable, the danger they face can't help but turn nail-biting. (For the record, the shark attacks are fast and furious, executed with immense drive and frenetic vim. Viewers with delicate nerves may find the carnage superfluous, but then are those types inclined to watch Thrash? I think not.)
I can't stress enough that Thrash's effects are outstanding. They'd look magnificent on a big, cinema screen, but even if beamed from a small one, every ounce of the production's footage spews of gruesome awe and succinct tremulation, made all the better by Wirkola's slick, kinetic direction.
To its disadvantage, the premise kicks off with a climate-change insert, which (at least for me) subtracted more from the concept's credibility than adding to it. Things would have been just fine without the lead-in, simply based on Wirkola's strong, character development. Besides, who among us hasn't weathered some sort of storm? There's enough relatable peril in the tale's foundation to make it believable.
Despite this one measly foible, Thrash is a fast-paced, short-and-sweet success, ideal for passing one's time if one enjoys gory, survivalist adventures. As long as one has Netflix (and again, holds a taste for this sort of grim thing), it would be foolish not to check it out.
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