The indie feature, Chum (not to be confused with the 2023, mad-scientist, shark-man entry), comes on the heels of Thrash and Deep Water. However, while the latter set successfully pulls from Jaws and Crawl for inspiration, the former taps Jaws 2, Jaws: The Revenge, Dangerous Animals, Orca: The Killer Whale and the grandaddy of 'em all, Moby Dick, for its hodgepodge distinction.
Directed by Jonathan (Within the Darkness) Zuck, who coscripted with Joe Leone (based on outlines supplied from several other writers), Chum lets its characters define the action, which is no surprise since such movies do lean on confined interaction by habit (er, make that default), but in this case, we get a more strained-than-usual boatload of folks near Malta, on a Gilligan's Island-type sojourn that boils over well in advance of any attacks.
The prime passengers are played by Alice (Star Trek Into Darkness) Eve (also one of the movie's producers) as Tina, and Eric Michael (White Squall) Cole as Eric, wealthy newlyweds who already dislike each other, but for whatever enigmatic motivation, feel inclined to give wedlock a whirl. Johnny Gaffney plays Rick, the best man, accompanied by Elle Hammond's Sadie (Tina's younger sister); Lisa Yard's Brittiany and Sarah Siadot's Rachinda. There's also Robert Grouse's Captain Daniel, who seems competent enough to complete the "three hour tour," except that when a mishap strikes, he perishes, thus leading a "fisherman," Jim (Cloak & Dagger) Klock's Roy, to come to the rescue, though he conceals a chilling, ulterior motive. He's after the great white that devoured his finance and needs bodies ("chum," that is) to lure the beast.
Roy's obsession eclipses any and all martial woes, and for a spell, I suspected the fable might slip into Mako: The Jaws of Death territory, just to explain or justify why the creature is prompted to keep combatting this one man when it could swim onward. No explanation comes, beyond a hazy, Al Gore, science-fiction climate-change cause (more or less in tune with Chum 2023's premise). Even that isn't fleshed out enough to make much sense. It just is what it is, leaving the protagonists convenient prey for the dueling predators.
From a visual standpoint, the underwater sequences are succinct and the shark assaults fast and fierce, but it takes substantial time for those moments to surface. For that matter, it takes a long haul for Roy to show up, thus stalling the psychological tension.
Despite its failed overreach, I didn't find Chum a waste of time. In the good ol' days, this one would have worked well and fine as part of a horror, drive-in marathon. Even so, as a modern "B flick," Chum never attains the concentration it should have. There's just a little too much relationship babble throughout, and though the Ahab component gives it a swell edge, it's still not enough to salvage the wreckage.
Chum is now making the rounds at select theaters and can be rented or purchased on Amazon Prime.
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