I am a sucker for shark films but fully realize that the vast majority of them are not of good quality.  Neither is Thrash, which exploits a premise that I have long thought had real promise for such a predatory tale.  The problem here isn’t the premise; it’s that so little is done with it.  And that at its most intense moments, it isn’t believable at all.

Tommy Wirkola’s film sends a quickly developing Category 5 hurricane toward South Carolina, one which breaks seaside levies and sends a huge surge of seawater (and its denizens) into the small town of Annieville.  Residents stupid enough to remain are deluged and find themselves trying to survive not just the rising waters but bull sharks and a very large great white shark cruising down the submerged streets of their town, right into their very homes.  Two sets of potential survivors are followed narratively, with rescuers still a long way off and the sharks still very hungry.

The premise is fine, establishing a thrilling doomsday scenario for this little town, and once we get into the story the characters are intriguing (if annoyingly stereotypical).  What really sinks this story is that the filmmakers avoid following through on their calamity.  It’s supposed to be a Category 5 storm, but only a few brief minutes of the film actually depict such conditions.  Otherwise it’s like a spring shower over an already flooded landscape.  It’s ridiculously mild; take a look at Hard Rain for an example of a cinematic storm that lasts the entire movie, as this one should have.  It’s also difficult to get past the stereotypes, especially the foster family father who is as buffoonish as can be.  Or the anxiety-ridden woman who forces herself to overcome her fear.  The script definitely starts with the disadvantage of such characters, but it tries to get better as it goes along.

Then there are the shark scenes.  Kudos to being realistic, at least up to a point.  The bull sharks are barely seen, and seem to attack in realistic manner and speed, at least at first.  Once we’re out in the streets some are sped up unrealistically, and where are they while the pregnant woman is giving birth in the water?  I will grant that the film creates and maintains suspense, but it does so at times cheaply, without giving its characters the wherewithal to survive on their own merits.  So it’s a mixed bag, not very believable and certainly not convincing in the hurricane sense, but kinda fun anyway.  ☆ ☆.  17 April 2026.