Shark Attack Sunday: Malibu Shark Attack (2008)

Unless there's an early morning earthquake off the coast of California and an impending tsunami, it was supposed to be yet another perfect southern California beach day.

But the 5.5 tremor that hit at 6:15 a.m. released a pack of goblin sharks and they're about to wreak havoc just outside of Malibu.

However, it's nine o'clock in the morning and the beach is packed with sun worshippers and drama has already hit the beach with Pete (Warren Christie) and his ex-girlfriend Heather (Peta Wilson) arguing over her new beau, Colin (Jeffrey Gannon); flirty Jenny (Chelan Simmons) tries to get Doug (Remi Broadway) to sign off on her community service papers, while Bryan (Nicholas Cooper) proposes to Barb (Sonya Salomaa).

Doug has received a call from Colin letting him know that he's closed off the parking lot down the beach so that he and his construction crew can do some blasting, while Pete hops onto his Jet Ski to confront Colin. But not for closing the parking lot, he wants to settle the dispute over Heather.

There's another underwater quake and more sharks are released as Heather gets a report of some rowdy parasailers at sea.

Just as she arrives, one of the guys has been attacked and enjoys a bob in the ocean before his partner is also attacked and the shark knocks her into the water. Thankfully, Pete is there to rescue her since he's on his way back to the lifeguard hut following the tsunami warning.

They manage to clear the beach, but due to traffic, they can't escape, so they head back to the hut to ride out the tsunami. Colin and his crew are also trapped at the job site.

So, the wave hits and both parties think they're the only survivors and since both locations are surrounded by water, they know that no one is coming for them. Colin, however, needs to get to Heather.

Thankfully there's a reporter on hand and the wave was 100 feet and the coast is under 30 feet of water, with destruction into the mainland. She reports that hospitals in Las Vegas are on standby waiting for survivors.

Anyway, Heather stitches up Jenny's leg wound (with blood seeping into the water) and of course the sharks smell it in the water, so they start attacking the hut and everyone is fine, except for poor Barb when one of them breaks through the floor, leaving Bryan holding her left arm with the engagement ring.

Meanwhile, two of Colin's employees, Yancey and Karl (Renee Bowen and Evert McQueen) try to find a way to shore from their location. Yancey tells Karl that she can swim the distance, but hey, it's a shark movie and you know what that means for the both of them.

Doug volunteers to dive to the cabinet under the hut to get more ammunition, but Pete goes instead since he's a Navy SEAL and can hold his breath the longest. When he returns, he's able to send a flare and Colin and George (Mungo McKay) rescue everyone from the hut, but then they run out of gas, so they drift to Colin's job site where the final attack of goblin sharks vs. humans takes place.

Of course, this is your typical bad shark movie, but I do give a lot of credit for the cinematography and some of the special effects, that being when Heather is stitching up Jenny's thigh. It's really kind of gruesome, but I don't know why there were parts of the film that went from color to black and white. Maybe it had something to do with the "blood?"

Even though this isn't the greatest movie, it is a lot better than most of the current direct to video releases.

The characters are okay, and they don't reflect on their lives like most movies do when they're in a perilous situation. Plus, there's a love triangle and by the way it's presented at the end, it looks like Heather wants to play the field with both Colin and Pete.

Also, no saws (chain and power) were harmed in the making of this movie.